Saving Henry
by Madame Nightmare
Summary: Linda hasn't seen Henry in days and decides to search for him. She seeks answers from Joey Drew, only to be directed to the old animation studio: Joey Drew Studio. Having arrived, Linda learns that there is so much more to the studio that meets the eye and that finding her husband is going to be quite the challenge.
1. Chapter 1: Joey Drew Studios

_**Chapter 1: Joey Drew Studios**_

* * *

Linda sat in the driver's seat of the car in silence as her grip on the steering wheel turned her knuckles white. She had been sitting out in in the drive way for about an hour or so, trying to figure out where her husband, Henry, had disappeared to. He had been gone for three days and the only clue she had was that he had gone to visit his old business partner and friend, Joey Drew. Linda was aware of their rocky relationship from the time Mr. Drew had pushed Henry into working himself to death over cartoon drawings, forcing Henry to come to the decision to quit.

It had been thirty years since the former business partners had seen let alone spoken to each other. That was until three days ago when Henry got a call from Joey, asking him to visit him at his apartment. At the time, Henry had assured Linda that Joey just wanted to talk, but ever since he didn't return home that night, she wasn't so sure. Linda was a nervous wreck; waiting anxiously for him to call or walk through the front door of their house.

But he never showed.

After a bit of driving, Linda breathed in and out slowly as she parked the car in the parking lot of an apartment complex before stepping out on to the pavement. She dug in her purse for a post-it note that was left by Henry, Joey Drew's apartment number was written on it along with his phone number. Linda could've just called him, but she felt it would be better to speak of the matter in person. As soon as she found the matching number above the door, Linda knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Come in, the door is open." An older voice had called from inside, as if expecting her arrival.

Linda took another deep breath and opened the door to step inside the apartment.

Joey Drew, an older, retired man these days, was sitting at his desk with sketches scattered on its surface. He looked over his shoulder at Linda and smiled.

"Ah, Linda. Nice of you to drop by. How is Henry doing?"

Hearing Henry's name out loud caused her heart to break.

"I haven't seen Henry in days." She replied, managing to fight back tears.

"You mean he never came home?" Joey asked as was now facing her in his chair.

Linda shook her head.

"No. I was hoping you would have an idea where he went?"

The older gentleman looked to be in thought as he stared at her. Linda tried to keep herself from squirming under his gaze; it wasn't like she was shy or anything, quite the opposite really. It was just she found Joey's gaze to be a bit unnerving, like he was hiding something and was debating on whether to let her in on a secret he had been keeping.

"Last I saw Henry, I had him visit the studio." Joey finally answered. "You may find something there to help you with your search."

* * *

After receiving directions from Joey, Linda had arrived at the old abandoned animation studio.

_**Joey Drew Studio**_.

When Henry had been working at the studio, Linda was never allowed to visit him. "_Too much of a distraction_" she was told, but of course she never blamed Henry for that. He never minded her looking over his shoulder when he drew at home, and would even allow her to get a better look at his drawing and ask for her opinion on it.

She missed that.

She missed his smile.

His warm embrace.

His tender kisses.

Linda missed all of it, and she was determined to bring him back home. She wasn't going to sit around and feel helpless.

As Linda entered the studio, she found it to be eerily quiet, except the sound of buzzing lights and the flow of ink through the pipes that were attached to the walls and the ceiling. She only knew it was ink because the pipes were leaking with it. A rather odd sight for someone who wasn't apart of the studio when they were installed. However, Linda did not question the lights being on.

_Perhaps Henry turned them on when he came to visit_.

Linda walked over to the art department, finding Henry's old desk along with old sketches of a little devil named studio was responsible for making cartoons of the silly rascal. A smile crept on Linda's face as she looked over the sketches; she knew her husband's work anywhere. She found the way he sketched Bendy rather endearing and showed how much he cared for the cartoon demon.

She remembered how hurt Henry was when he had to leave Bendy at the mercy of Joey Drew when he quit the studio as he did not own the rights to make Bendy cartoons anymore. However, quitting was for his own good. Otherwise he would've dropped dead in the studio.

Linda wiped her eyes as tears threatened to fall, and made her way into a room that looked as though a wall had to be knocked down to make it. There were several desks with images of Bendy on them in various poses.

_This must've been where they drew and inked the cells for the animation_.

There was a desk in a corner of the room that caught her eye.

She thought she saw movement.

Linda approached the desk, seeing yet another drawing of Bendy. However, there was something different about this one than the others.

It almost seemed like it was alive.

"The more I see you, the cuter you get." She said as she chuckled.

Bendy's cheeks darkened a bit.

_**Did he just blush?!**_

Linda was speechless as she stared at the paper. She had never seen a non-animated drawing react that way before, or at all for that matter. She must've been seeing things.

An idea formed in her head.

A crazy one.

"Where is Henry?"

The toon devil's eyes shifted to look at her, causing Linda's eyes to widen.

She was going crazy.

"Do you know where Henry Stein is?" She asked, raising her voice a bit in desperation.

Turned out raising your voice at Bendy was a bad idea as he started to become very nervous, shaking violently. Noticing that she was probably scaring the toon, Linda backed off.

She remembered Henry explaining to her that Bendy, despite being a mischievous, trouble-making demon, was rather sensitive.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

_I'm talking to a cartoon._

Bendy's shaking stopped as he stared out at her.

"Please, I need to know where Henry is." Linda pleaded, her voice more gentle this time. "He's my husband."

She felt stupid as she began to cry after holding it back for so long.

How could she expect a drawing to know where he was? It wasn't like Bendy could come off the page and show her to him.

Linda caught a glimpse of Bendy waving his hands and shaking his head as if he was telling her not to cry. She then watched as he began to write with his pointer on the space above him. She spelled out the word before it vanished before her eyes.

_Trapped._

* * *

**A/N: I decided to add a bit of the 2D!Bendy au into the story, but decided not to have him talk as Bendy, for the most part, is a silent character in the cartoons. However, I advise not to get too attached to him now as I do not plan on keeping him throughout the story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Tunnel of Ink

_**Chapter 2: The Tunnel of Ink**_

_Trapped..._

_No..._

_No, no, no._

_This can't be happening!_

Linda tried to keep herself together, panicking wasn't going to help. She at least knew Henry was alive, but for how long? She prayed wherever he was he was alright. She couldn't bear the thought of him on the brink of death, having to wait for someone to come find him. Who else would've known he was here?

Linda looked down at the Bendy drawing, picking up the paper from the desk.

"I need your help, Bendy. I don't know where to look from here."

Bendy tilted his head down a bit as he put a gloved hand to his chin in thought. However, before Linda could get some form of response from the little devil, she heard a noise down the hall. Linda walked back towards the main lobby with the Bendy picture still in her hand and looked down at the toon, who only responded with a shrug.

As she turned down another hall, she saw a message written on the wall in ink.

_**DREAMS COME TRUE**_

The way it was written unnerved her a bit, but she was carrying a piece of paper with a moving drawing on it. That was the strangest thing she encountered in the studio and, to be honest, she hoped it was the last. She'd be institutionalized if she was caught in public treating a drawing of Bendy as if he were a real being.

There was another sound that caught Linda's attention as she continued down the hall to a slightly opened door. Heavy footsteps could be heard from inside. Just as she was about to step inside, she noticed Bendy was shaking his head frantically.

"What's wrong?" Linda asked, whispering as Bendy put a finger to his lips.

Well, if he had lips.

She then waited as the toon devil put a hand to where his ear would be, staying in that position for about five seconds before giving Linda an 'OK' sign with his fingers.

Linda opened the door to some stairs that lead into a break room of some kind, Chairs were knocked over and paper and books were scattered on the tables. A Bendy cut-out was staring up at her from the bottom of the stairs, looking like it was trying to play innocent. All the cut-outs Linda had seen looked like that. There seemed to be plenty of them in the studio.

Still, Linda found the _Little Devil Darlin'_ to be charming.

Probably because Henry created him.

Linda carefully made her way down the stairs as the steps creaked underneath her. She was puzzled by the state the studio was left in as if it just hit her.

"Why does it look like everyone vanished into thin air?" She asked no one in particular. "You would think everything would've been cleared out once everyone was given notice that the place was shutting down."

Then another thought occurred to her: _Maybe they weren't given notice._

The thought gave her a chill for some reason, making Bendy give her a look of concern.

"I'm alright." She assured, but couldn't tell if he believed her or not.

She wasn't so sure herself.

Linda made her way towards the back of the break room as she noticed a nook that lead into a separate section. She peeked around the corner to see what looked to be a trapped door was opened. Down below she could hear murmurs of several voices at once.

"Henry?"

The voices continued on, even as she descended the stairs, only to pause at the last step.

She couldn't believe her eyes. A living Bendy on a piece of paper wasn't the strangest thing in the studio.

Before her was a swirling tunnel of ink with a bright light shining at the end as if to coax a person towards it. Linda stepped into the ink as if she were hypnotized by the light, it was then she realized she couldn't turn back.

The voices grew louder, becoming more distracting, but Linda could not make out what they were saying. She could feel her heart pound against her chest as she felt she was sinking into the ink.

"_Alright Joey, I'm here. Let's see if I can find what you wanted me to see._"

"Henry!" Linda cried as she instantly recognized her husband's voice amongst the sea of others.

"I'm coming, Henry! Just hold on!"

She could feel the adrenaline pumping in her veins as she trudged through the ink towards the light. She could feel the ink thickening and becoming heavier around her as if it were trying to keep her from the light.

As if it wanted her to stay.

However, Linda was not going to let it stop her.

As soon as she reached the end of the tunnel, she found herself back at the entrance.

Only this time the entire studio was flooded with ink and there was a gaping hole leading down a hidden shaft before her.

Linda looked down a Bendy to see that he was no longer moving; he was stuck in his default position.

"Bendy?"

There was no movement in reply.

She frowned at the thought of now wondering the bizarre abandoned studio by herself, and carefully folded up the drawing and tucked it away in her purse.

"You should be safe in there."

Linda froze as she heard something rise from the ink behind her, feeling whatever it was now looming over her. She slowly turned as she heard a low gurgling growl, her eyes widening with fear as she gazed upon a tall, inky figure.

It appeared as a deformed Bendy.

It had no eyes as a majority of its face was covered in oozing ink, all that remained was Bendy's signature smile, making it appear more threatening than cute. Its body was tall and lanky, appearing malnourished.

Linda stepped back a bit, almost losing her balance as she reached the edge of the shaft below her.

Surely she wouldn't survive such a fall.

Before she could even think about jumping, the deformed Bendy grabbed on to her with his singular gloved, cartoony hand. Linda let out a shriek and then fell silent as everything went black.

All she could hear were the gurgling growls of the Ink Demon.

* * *

_**A/N: I had to type out chapter two after posting chapter one. I wanted Linda to have a bit of a different experience than Henry with her journey trough the studio, so I thought about implementing the secret passage in BaTIM Chapter 1 where you have to fill specific requirements to gain access to.**_


	3. Chapter 3: Ink Demon

_**Chapter 3: Ink Demon**_

* * *

Linda felt weightless in the darkness, she could hardly see her own hand in front of her face as she went to rub her eyes.

A loud clicking sound from behind her caught her attention, making her turn around to see that a spotlight had turned on. Her eyes followed the bright light to see it shine down on a man stained in ink. His head was lowered so she couldn't see his face, and he appeared to be held up by glowing chains.

Linda felt her heart jump as she still recognized the man; it was none other than her husband.

She had finally found him.

"Henry!"

Linda ran up to him, her feet sloshing from the ink underneath her. She placed her hand on Henry's cheek, but he didn't react. He was unconscious.

"Henry?" Linda whimpered as she felt thick tears spill down her face uncontrollably. The liquid felt unnatural to her and she went to wipe her eyes. She gasped as she saw her tears were made of ink.

Her focus on her inky tears went away as she heard the chain-links attached to Henry clinked against each other. He was gaining consciousness. Linda gripped on to his broad shoulders.

"Henry! It's me! Linda! I've come to take you-"

Before she could finish, Henry's head snapped upwards to look at her causing her to shriek in fright.

Ink was pouring profusely from his blacked out eyes as he cried out in anguish. Ink started to pool out of his mouth, pouring out like a thick waterfall, choking his screams to where he could only make gargling sounds.

* * *

Linda was panting heavily as her eyes snapped open, her heart pounding in her chest and ears as she jolted awake. She looked around wildly, noticing that she was in a metal room of some kind.

Projections of Bendy cartoons played on repeat with no sound on projection screens that hung from the ceiling all around her. It was then she realized she was sitting in a big leather office chair with what appeared to be broken chains handing from thin, steel pipes that were lodged into the top corners of the chair's back. Below her was a mound of thick, oozing black ink with projectors sticking out along with large gears that lead up to the chair; making it throne-like.

Linda looked down to see a couple plushies on her lap. One was Boris the wolf and the other was Alice Angel; both characters Linda knew well of course. She remembered when Henry first created them, telling her she was his inspiration for Alice, and how hot her cheeks were from blushing at such a gesture. Alice had a cute, flattering design.

It mad her smile fondly at the doll as the memory played in her mind's eye, but it was short lived as a third plushie was plopped down on to her lap. It was a Bendy doll that had squeaked when it was dropped.

Looking up from where she sat, Linda saw the Ink Demon looming over her as he stood behind the chair.

She went to move out of the chair as she stared up at the tall inky being in fear, but decided against it as he let out a low growl. Linda wasn't sure what the deformed Bendy wanted from her, but if she wanted to stay alive, sudden movements were a big no-no.

Something with a bit of weight to it caused her to flinch as it landed at her side. She took her eyes off of the Ink Demon for a moment to see that the object was a can of bacon soup.

Confused, she carefully looked back up at the Ink Demon. Despite not seeing his eyes due to the heavy ink dripping down his face, he appeared to be watching her expectantly.

"Y-you want me to have some soup?" She guessed.

The Ink Demon made his way around the chair so that he was now standing in front of her. Linda noticed he had a can of his own. She watched as the Ink Demon brought the can to his toothy grin, only for her look of confusion to turn into fear as he opened his mouth wider to reveal sharper, not-so-dull teeth.

A maw of a monster.

The Ink Demon brought his sharp fangs down on the can, puncturing the tin surface, and tilted his head back to consume the liquid inside.

Linda could only see the horrific, violent imagery as she imagined what those teeth could do to a person. The idea made her shudder and shift herself in the chair with discomfort.

After the Ink Demon had also managed to eat the can itself, he continued to look at towards Linda expectantly.

"Alright, I guess I'll have some." She sighed as she kept an eye on him.

As Linda pulled on the metal tab to make opening the can easier, she took a hesitant sip as she wondered just how old the soup was. To her surprise, it wasn't that bad.

A bit bland, but not bad.

It would probably taste better if it was cooked too.

Letting out a grunt, the Ink Demon appeared to be satisfied as he watched Linda drink more of the soup.

She had a feeling she shouldn't test his patience.

The room was silent as she watched her inky captor become distracted by the silent cartoons above them, and as she leaned back a bit, Linda noticed something was tucked behind her back.

She reached behind her and grabbed on to the hard object, pulling it out in front of her to reveal a film reel labeled "_**THE END**_".

Linda flinched as the Ink Demon growled loudly and snatched the reel out of her hands, his grin twitching as he stared down at it. If she had to guess, it would seem he didn't like it.

* * *

Following the Ink Demon down the halls of the lower levels of the studio made Linda wonder how big the studio really was.

It seemed ginormous.

She always thought it would be a lot smaller than this as the studio was only making cartoons, unless Joey had other plans.

As the Ink Demon walked ahead of her, she could see he had a bit of difficulty performing such a basic action as he appeared to be limping. Linda couldn't tell if it was due to an injury (could ink beings get hurt?) or if it was because of the fact one leg was swollen down to the foot with excess ink unlike the other, which appeared human-like. She also noticed the drastic change in the atmosphere as black ink trails covered everything in the Ink Demon's presence, emitting a demonic hissing sound as if the ink was alive.

At this point, Linda wouldn't be surprised if it was.

The hissing along with the Ink Demon's labored growling was enough to send chills down her spine. Fortunately, it seemed he had no interest in harming her. Not yet, at least.

Like a human working with a dangerous animal: it wasn't a matter of "_if_". It was a matter of "_when_".

However, unlike an animal, the Ink Demon's emotions were unreadable. Especially with that permanent smile of his.

Linda was dragged out of her thoughts as she noticed another inky figure before them. The top half was human-like, but lacked eyes and other defining features; the lower half from the torso on down was shapeless and formed a pool of ink below them.

Despite having no eyes, it seemed to be very aware of their presence.

The creature let out a moan and tried to get away, but it seemed the Ink Demon wasn't going to let it escape as he got closer. Linda watched in horror as the ink creature splattered in a violent manner, just by being too close to the Ink Demon. She was already stained with ink as it was, black splotches ruining her dress and her staining her skin; now she was stained with the inky insides of the former creature.

It seemed no matter where the Ink Demon went he caused destruction to the other ink beings lurking in the studio. Some were like the one before, while others were like a twisted version of The Butcher Gang; more creations of Henry's. Linda would close her eyes or look away whenever the Ink Demon would kill them. But the worst kills were of the ink creatures that had a human-like body with glowing yellow eyes.

These particular ink creatures had voices.

Her heart ached for them as they would plead for mercy and would try to get away from the merciless Ink Demon. Their agonizing screams when being torn apart would keep even the most cold hearted person up at night.

Linda figured her and Henry were going to need a lot of therapy if they ever left the studio.

* * *

_**A/N: Chapter 3 was a bit of challenge for me to write. This is my first time writing horror, so a lot of the horror and suspense aspects of this story may come off as cheesy. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. **_


	4. Chapter 4: A Lamb to The Slaughter

_**Chapter 4: A Lamb to The Slaughter**_

* * *

Exhaustion seeped into Linda's being after being exposed to the Ink Demon's merciless, horrific nature and from traveling through the ink to get to the other levels of the studio. The voices trapped in the ink rang loudly in her ears, leaving her feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Each time she followed the Ink Demon into an ink portal, she would feel as if she were losing a bit of herself to it.

The Ink Demon paid no mind to how Linda felt, not until he looked back at her to see she was slowing down.

He let out a grunt and grabbed on to her arm. Everything in Linda's body screamed at her to pull out of his grip, but his hold on her was firm. Even if she did manage to pull away, there was no way she could escape the Ink Demon.

Linda stumbled along as the Ink Demon dragged her into an ink portal that formed on the wall. She silently shook her head in protest, but her actions went unnoticed.

The unending voices and screams were getting to her to the point she wanted to join their chorus. Linda noticed the Ink Demon look back at her, feeling he found her suffering amusing in some way.

She was his prisoner; his play-thing.

Linda began to wonder what the Ink Demon would do to Henry if he were in her place. She didn't even want to imagine it.

Once out of the ink, Linda didn't have time to look around as she was shoved into a stall of some sort. The Ink Demon slammed door shut, giving her limited vision through a small, eye-level look out.

There wasn't enough space in the stall for Linda to move a lot, but there at least a small bench for her to sit down on; making her knees rub up against the wooden door.

Another wave of exhaustion surged through her as she let out a heavy sigh. It didn't take long for her to pass out as her eye-lids began to droop.

"_Sheep, sheep, sheep...it's time for sleep._"

Linda opened her eyes as she heard the unfamiliar voice.

It sounded sinister.

"_Rest your head. It's time for bed._"

She carefully stood up to look out of her small window. The Ink Demon was nowhere to be found.

The voice continued.

"_In the morning, you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead._"

It was then Linda noticed an inking being making his way down the hall, approaching her little stall. As he got closer, she could see he was wearing tattered ink stained overalls and a mask in the likeness of Bendy's face, only there was a hole chipped into the smile. She also noticed he was carrying a Bendy cut-out, which he turned and leaned it against the wall. Linda heard him murmuring, but she couldn't make out the words. It sounded like a prayer.

It made her uncomfortable.

Linda didn't realize how loud she was breathing until she saw the ink being slowly look over in her direction.

"It seems a lamb has wandered from their pasture."

She didn't have to see his features to know he was smiling.

She could hear it in his chilling voice.

Linda's heart began to beat faster as the ink being approached her little hideout, his footsteps making sloshing noises with each step.

The door was then thrown open as Linda cowered before him.

There was no escape.

"Come along now, little sheep." The masked one said, a crazed tone in his voice as he snatched her wrist and yanked her out of her stall.

"**The time for sacrifice is upon us.**"

Even without knowing if anyone would help her or was around to hear her, Linda wanted to cry out for help. However, before she could utter a syllable, her world had turned a familiar black.

* * *

A high pitched ringing rang through Linda's head as she started to wake up. She carefully moved her head to look around as she regained her vision to find herself in a dimly lit room. the only light source around her were lit candles that surrounded her in a circle and the ones in the corners of the room.

Linda tried to move her arms only to find out they were bound behind her back, the rope irritating her skin as she struggled.

"Sheep, sheep, sheep, it's time for sleep. Rest your head. It's time for bed. In the morning, you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead."

There was that rhyme again.

Linda looked around the room to find her new captor in the corner, setting up what appeared to be an alter to Bendy as a Bendy cut-out stood before him with offerings of bacon soup and a Bendy doll.

This guy was obsessed with the _Little Devil Darlin'_.

"Ah, the lamb is awake." He said as he looked over in Linda's direction.

"Please..." Linda whimpered, not liking how pitiful she sounded. "Don't do this."

The masked ink being tsked as he shook his head with false sympathy.

"I'm afraid I must, my little sheep. I must honor my savior for I am his _Prophet_. The Ink Demon not listen to my prayers if I do not offer him a sacrifice."

_**Ink Demon...**_

"I...I know him." Linda said, hoping to somehow reason with the _self-proclaimed prophet._ "The Ink Demon."

The Prophet growled under his breath.

"**Lies!**"

Linda flinched.

"N-no! It's true!" She stammered as he approached her, grabbing an axe that was resting against a wooden crate. "I've been following him throughout the studio! I've watched him mercilessly destroy ink beings in his path!"

The Prophet paused a couple inches away from her; despite showing no eyes, Linda could feel his hard stare.

He tilted his head slightly, almost intrigued.

"Tell me more."

Linda swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, relieved that she was able to at least get through to him in an extent.

"I traveled with him through the ink, each trip worse than the last." She went on. "The voices- _the screams_...they got louder and more desperate."

The Prophet stood their in silence for a bit before dropping the axe. He reached out his inky hand, wiping an ink stain on Linda's cheek. The gesture caused a chill to go down her spine.

"You have been baptized in the Ink Demon's essence. You have been blessed by his inky presence."

Linda watched as the Prophet bowed on his knees before her, his head lowered.

"You are his _herald_! His _harbinger_!"

She was taken aback by what he said.

_A harbinger? Her?_

_**No.**_

If anything, she was just his captive. Until now as the Ink Demon didn't seem to be around anymore.

The Prophet then looked up at Linda and hastily began to untie her from her binds.

"I beg you not to tell his Lordship the sin I have committed! Spare me of his wrath oh Great Harbinger!"

He seemed to drip with ink a bit as he nervously looked about him once Linda was untied. He reminded her of the lost inky beings with the glowing yellow eyes before the Ink Demon would slaughter them. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the crazed Prophet.

"I won't tell him." She promised as she carefully stood up, rubbing her sore wrists.

"Please leave." The Prophet said as he stumbled to his feet. "I don't want our lord finding out what I've almost done."

Linda followed him to the door and left the room without incident.

* * *

_**A/N: I originally had something else in mind for chapter four, but then I thought, "Why not introduce Linda to Sammy?" Well, I hope you enjoyed this short read. I will post chapter five shortly. **_


	5. Chapter 5: A Friendly Wolf

_**Chapter 5: A Friendly Wolf**_

* * *

While walking through the machine powered halls for what seemed for hours, it was then Linda realized how alone she truly was and how much she really didn't like it.

Steam from the pumping machinery lining the walls caused her to flinch as it hissed loudly in her ears, messing her hair a little more than it already was from the ink.

She looked down both ends of the hall, not even knowing if she was heading the right way to find Henry. She wasn't even sure if he was alive at this point; the Prophet could've gotten to him first, sacrificing him to the Ink Demon.

Or the Ink Demon already claimed Henry a long time ago.

The thought alone of Henry rotting somewhere in the forsaken studio was enough to break Linda down into a sobbing mess on the grated floor. With shaking hands, she opened her purse and pulled out the folded Bendy drawing that used to respond to her when she first came across it along with a photo of her and Henry on their wedding day.

She held both images close to her chest as she wept.

Linda lifted her head with a jolt as she heard something clatter down the hall, seeing a strange silhouette bend down to pick up what seemed to be a can. She watched in silence as she figured it was another ink creature as it had big hands, and didn't at all appear to be human. The figure seemed to pause as it noticed her, tilting its head to the side.

Not sure on whether it would be friendly or not, Linda slowly stood up as she tucked away the drawing and the wedding picture back into the safety of her purse. Seeing how she was treated by these creatures as of late, she wasn't going to take any chances and began to run towards the opposite end.

As she turned a couple corners, she came across a familiar looking stall. Above it was a sign that read "Little Miracle Station", and on the door was a black ring that resembled a halo. Without giving it a second thought, Linda stepped into the station and peered out of the slot as she held her breath.

The sound of stomping boots echoed through the hall, getting louder as the figured got closer. In the light Linda could see its features: Two pie-cut eyes, a white face with black spotted cheeks and a long snout tipped with a round black nose, two long black ears rounded at the tips, and a pair of tan overalls, black boots, and white toon-like gloves.

It was Boris.

A perfect replica of Boris; he wasn't deformed like the Bendy that roamed the studio and had kept her captive for what felt like months.

The Ink Demon, as he was called.

This Boris didn't look threatening in the slightest. He never did in the cartoons.

Linda hesitantly opened the door to the miracle station; she couldn't be too careful. However the toon wolf only looked at her curiously as she stepped out into the open.

She could see that he was carrying cans of bacon soup in his arms as if he was hoarding the only food available in the studio.

"Boris? Is that really you?" Linda asked. "You're..._normal_."

Normal seemed to be different in this place though.

Boris appeared to be a bit confused, as if trying to figure out who she was but couldn't recognize her.

Was he supposed to?

"I'm...I'm looking for for my husband, Henry." Linda explained, taking a step closer. "Do you know where he is?"

She became hopeful as the toon wolf perked up at Henry's name. He smiled at her and nodded.

Boris knew where Henry was.

"Please take me to him!" Linda begged. "I need to know he's alright!"

She wanted to hug and kiss the toon wolf as he motioned for her to follow him.

Feeling in brighter spirits, she gladly followed Boris down the mechanical halls. She even willingly helped in carrying the cans of bacon soup.

They both stopped at a door and Boris held up a finger for Linda to wait and gave her the rest of the soup cans. She watched as he disappeared down the hall the came from.

Anxiety filled Linda's chest while Boris was gone. What if he was lying to her?

What if this was a trap?

Linda looked up towards the ceiling as she heard banging sounds from above as if someone or something was crawling through the vents.

Soon the door opened before her, revealing the friendly toon wolf. He stepped aside for her to enter the safe house.

Looking around the small room, Linda could see that despite its size it seemed cozy. they was a small stove for cooking and a table with playing cards scattered about the surface. Gentle, upbeat music played in the background, calming some of Linda's nerves as she stepped inside. Boris then took the cans of soup from her as he began to stock the shelves against the wall. He then nodded towards a small hallway next to him, encouraging her to go down it.

Linda was a bit hesitant as she entered the hall and walked past a bathroom flooded with inky water. Her eyes immediately spotted a room with a hammock hang from the banisters of the wall with a chest underneath it and a shelf behind it with various items. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she entered the room and looked to her left.

Lying on a cot, sound asleep, was her husband.

Her dear loving husband.

She found Henry.

Tears of joy spilled down her cheeks as she rushed over to his side, wrapping her arms around him. She felt him stir underneath her, his soft and tired voice reaching her ear.

"Linda?..."

* * *

_**A/N: As promised, here's chapter five shortly after chapter four's publishing. It's the shortest chapter so far, but once again, I hope you enjoy it.**_


	6. Chapter 6: Time Loop Theory

_**Chapter 6: Time Loop Theory**_

* * *

After waking to find Linda with her arms around him, Henry eagerly returned the embrace. He held her tightly causing his wife to lay on top of him.

"Oh Linda, I thought I would never see you again!"

"I thought I lost you." Linda replied, gently nuzzling into him.

Henry gently pushed her away from him to look her in the eye, his happiness turning to a mix of concern and confusion.

"How did you find me? Why are you here?"

"Boris helped me, he brought me here." Linda explained before frowning slightly. "I came to the studio to find you."

Henry seemed to be conflicted.

"Linda, I'm glad to see you again, but you really shouldn't have come here. It's _dangerous_."

"I know." She sighed. "But you have been missing for three days when I came to the studio. Joey told me to come here in case there was something that would help me find where you were."

Her husband frowned.

"Joey...He can't be trusted, Linda. He's the reason- wait...I've been missing for three days?"

Watching Henry's expression change to one of shock, Linda nodded.

"Yes! I was worried sick when you didn't come home from Joey's apartment."

Henry placed his hand on his forehead as he looked to be in thought, letting the information sink in.

"It felt like I've been stuck here for months, maybe even over a year..."

Confused, Linda got off him so he could sit up.

"What do you mean?"

"Linda, I'm trapped here." Henry started as he stared her down, she could see the exhaustion in his eyes as well as the bags under them. "I repeat the same events that take place in the studio over and over. Just when I think it's over, it all starts over again; it's like I'm cursed to be stuck in a time loop."

"A time loop?" Linda asked as she thought it over.

"I think Joey's behind it." Henry continued. "Even if there a changes to the loop before it ends, it all starts over again."

"How do we break the loop?" Linda asked, trying to process everything.

Henry let out a heavy sigh.

"I don't know...Now that you're here, you may be trapped in this hell too."

She didn't know how to respond, she'd rather go through a hellish time loop with Henry than live a life without him. Linda wanted to assure him this, but she felt it would do nothing to make matters better. Henry was a simple man; he would never want to drag anyone into his problems.

"How do you think Joey's behind this?" Linda finally asked.

Henry was no longer looking at her as he clasped his hands tightly together.

"After the end of each loop, I see him at his apartment." He said. "Every time he says the same thing he told me before telling me to visit the studio, saying there was something he wanted to show me...Then I end up back at the studio."

Linda remembered hearing Henry's voice stating his arrival when she went through the tunnel of ink on the first level of the studio. She then noticed Henry was looking at her.

"Joey has been messing with things no one should touch. Now he has brought you into this mess."

There was anger behind his tone.

Linda leaned against Henry and rested her head on his shoulder. She could tell he was trying to contain himself from shaking.

"We'll find a way out of this, Henry. Even if it takes a couple loops."

Henry clenched his jaw and said nothing.

Looking over towards the doorway, Linda saw Boris poke his head into the room and smiled at him.

"What is it, buddy?" Henry asked, keeping his voice leveled. "Are you hungry?"

The toon wolf nodded vigorously, causing Linda to chuckle. Henry let out a small chuckle as well and smiled.

"Figures."

He then stood up and looked at Linda with a warm smile.

"Are you getting hungry?"

Now that he's mentioned it, it had been a while since she last had anything on her stomach. The last time she ate was in that peculiar throne room where the Ink Demon had first taken her. Linda decided against telling Henry about it, she didn't want to worry him more. In due time she would tell him all she went through when she came looking for him.

"I could have a bite."

* * *

Linda had insisted on cooking the soup as Henry still appeared to be rather tired. Going through several time loops must have taken its toll one way or another, and the idea worried her.

Just what exactly has Henry been through during his time in the studio? How many times had he come close to death?

How many times had he encountered the Ink Demon?

Once the soup was ready, she set two bowls down on the table for Henry and Boris before serving herself and joining them.

Just then as she sat next to Henry and sipped her soup she noticed faded scars on his skin; some looked worse than others. Like her, he was also blotted with ink stains. Only he looked like he had drowned in it several times, darkening his skin a bit. His hair that used to be neat as he could manage it was frazzled, and his clothes were tattered and ruined with ink.

Linda knew, if they ever got home, Henry would need new work clothes along with a well deserved shower. Though the scars would most likely remain, Henry was still a handsome man in her eyes.

* * *

_**A/N: Yeesh, another short chapter. Well, I suppose it inevitable at times, especially when you want to get on with the plot. Plus Linda at least needed a bit more a breather from what she's been through, so why not have two short, calm chapters? Of course that won't last long though.**_


	7. Chapter 7: The Twisted Angel

_**Chapter 7: The Twisted Angel**_

* * *

_**Content Warning: Graphic violence**_

* * *

Linda opened her eyes to see the floor light rapidly flickering and noticed Henry was no longer at her side. She looked around the tiny room as she sat up on the cot and froze as she spotted Boris' arm hanging limply from the hammock; ink was dripping from it.

Her legs shook as she stood up and slowly made her way to the toon wolf's sleeping arrangement, nearly gagging as she let out a frightened gasp.  
Boris was brutally murdered; his chest was split open to reveal ribs and inky organs. He was missing his heart, however. It was as if it had been torn out of him.

Tears pricked Linda's eyes.

"Henry! Boris is-"

She was cut off as she heard a loud thunk coming from the main room of the safe house, causing her to jolt. Linda made her way down the tiny hallway to investigate and let out a cry as she saw Henry lying on the floor; a pool of ink seeping out from underneath him.

Henry's eyes were blacked out as a look of terror was frozen on his face; ink trickled down from the corners of his eye sockets like tears, and had dribbled out of his mouth. The worst part about his murder was Henry appeared to have been mangled, his chest was split open in a similar fashion to Boris', and he was also missing his heart.

Linda covered her mouth to keep the bile back as she backed away from the scene, bumping into someone standing behind her. It was then she heard the familiar growling which caused her to whip around to come face to face with the murderer.

It was none other than the Ink Demon. His teeth were sharp and jagged as they dripped with inky saliva. Before Linda could react in any way, the Ink Demon let out a roar and lunged at her.

* * *

"Linda! Wake up!"

Henry was holding his wife's shoulders in a firm grip as he shook her, pure concern on his features.

"You're having a nightmare!"

Linda's eyes snapped open as she she was forced awake. She was in a cold sweat as she tried to slow her pounding heart. Seeing Henry alive before her made her wrap her arms around him, clinging on to him as if her life depended on.

"You and Boris-" She started, but couldn't get all the words out. "You both were-"

"Shh, it's alright." Henry soothed as he held her. "We're safe. Everything is fine."

Normally it was Linda who would soothe Henry whenever he had horrible nightmares. He couldn't recall a time she had a nightmare he had to comfort her from, but he wasn't going to complain.

Boris was sitting up in his hammock, looking over at the couple with concern.

"Boris and I are okay." Henry assured. "So are you."

Linda felt herself relax a bit, but she couldn't get the horrible images out of her head. They were still vivid in her mind's eye.

"The Ink Demon got you." She whimpered.

Henry tensed up a bit, but kept his arms around his wife.

"I can handle him." He assured, before becoming concerned. "He hasn't hurt you, has he?"

Linda looked up at Henry to see his stare was intense, a look she was unfamiliar with since they were married. He was always a laid back kind of guy. It worried her how much this cursed studio may have changed him.

"No, he hasn't." She finally answered. "He held me hostage and would handle me a bit roughly, but as far as I know, he had no intention in hurting me."

Henry was silent as he listened to her.

"I wonder if he was going to use you as bait." He said after a moment.

"_Bait_?" Linda asked, raising a brow.

"Out of everyone trapped in the studio, I seem to be the one '_Bendy_' wants." Henry explained. "By having you in his possession, he could've used you against me."

It somewhat made sense to Linda as she thought about it. The Ink Demon was a clever creature from what she had observed during her time with him. He probably made some connection between her and Henry.

"As long as I'm out of his reach, he can't use me."

* * *

As time moved on, the supply of bacon soup was starting to run out.

"It's about time we move on." Henry said as he walked into the main room.

Linda and Boris were sitting at the table, having some soup. Henry looked over towards the door and then back at the toon wolf.

"Alright buddy, where is that handle for the door you always hold hostage before I feed you?"

Boris looked at him before setting a tool box on the table.

"Boris hides the handle?" Linda asked as Henry opened the tool box.

Sure enough, the handle was inside.

"All the time." He replied as he took the handle out and went to put it back in its proper place. "It's how he gets me to cook before we leave."

Linda looked at Boris who only responded with a shrug.

As Henry fitted the handle back into place in the slot, he pulled it down and the door opened. Boris stood up and walked out of the safe house.

Watching in silence, Linda became anxious as she thought about the possible dangers out there waiting for them. She noticed Henry was a bit reluctant to walk out as he stared at Boris, who was waiting patiently in the hall. Henry then turned towards Linda and held out his hand, offering her a warm smile. However, there was a bit of sadness behind it.

"Let's go."

Linda stood up and approached him, taking his hand in hers. Henry then guided her out of the safe house and out into the hall she had previously been lost in when she was alone. Linda hoped no matter what was waiting for them beyond the safe house, they wouldn't be separated.

* * *

"Be careful out there, Boris." Linda said as her and Henry watched the toon wolf disappeared into the vent.

They were trapped between two metal doors, the only way through was a vent. Not wanting to cause problems, Henry had decided it would be best for him and Linda to stay behind while Boris searched for the switch to open the door.

Also Boris seemed to know the way through the vents.

"How long do you think he'll be gone?" Linda asked.

"It shouldn't take too long." Henry answered. "Though with the changes in the time loop, anything could happen at this point."

That didn't make Linda feel better, but before she could voice her discomfort, the metal door in front of them opened. The couple walked through with Henry taking the lead. They both walked in silence as the sounds of the studio filled their ears.

A big crooked image of Bendy's head covered in ink stains stared at them from down the small hall, plastered to a wall. Linda felt a chill go down her spine as it reminded her of the mask the Prophet wore.

Henry guided her down a small hall to the left, which was identical to the on the right as both lead into a large lobby of sorts. Giant toy airplanes hung from the ceiling while two giant plushies of Boris and Bendy sat around what appeared to be a large ink fountain. Linda looked up to see a sign handing in front of the fountain.

_**Heavenly Toys**_

They silently approached some stairs that shared a twin across the way. Henry pulled a switch on the side of the wall.

"What does that do?" Linda asked.

"It powers a toy machine in the next room." He answered. "We're going to need it turned on to move the shelves blocking the door.  
As they entered the room, Linda could see what he was talking about. A row of shelves filled with Bendy, Boris, and Alice Angel dolls on each shelf.

She remembered the dolls the Ink Demon had given her when he kept her in that throne room.

_He must've gotten them from here._

While Henry was distracted in removing doll parts from the machine's motors, Linda noticed a tape recorder sitting on a desk next to a bowl with a tiny Bendy figure made of ink sitting in it. She read the name taped on the recorder and pressed play.

The voice of an Irishman blared out of the recorder's speaker:

_I don't be seein' what the big deal is. _

_So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile?_

_That's sure no reason for Mr. Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me. And if he really wants to be helpful, he could be tellin' me what I'm to be doin' with this warehouse I got full of that angel whatchamacallit. Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin'!_

_Probably have to melt it all down to be rid of it all._

The tape ended with a soft click.

"Those things are all over the place." Henry said, nodding towards the recorder after getting Linda's attention. "Some employees had more to say than others; even Joey has a couple of them lying around."

"Sounds like this Shawn Flynn wasn't particularly happy with him." Linda said as she stepped away from the desk.

Henry sighed as he pulled the switch, moving the shelves until the door on the other side was unblocked.

"No one was._ He ruined lives_."

He seemed hesitant as he reached for the door, but opened the door to a room with shelves of Alice Angel dolls tucked behind large windows. A cut-out of the character also stood off to the side of the room. Ahead of them was another window that showed a door on the other side with a star on it, like what one would see for a special actor's dressing room. The lights in the room suddenly cut out as the door behind them slammed shut.

Linda looked around nervously as a bunch of small television monitors turned on, playing Alice Angel's theme as the character's face appeared on the screens.

Halfway through the song, a spotlight turned on and shined down on the star door behind the window. Linda glanced at Henry as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him in a protective manner. She tried to prepare herself, but failed as she nearly jumped out of her skin around the third time the singer was going to say "_Alice Angel_".

A life-like Alice Angel had popped up out of nowhere and banged on the glass between them, showing off her disfigured face.

"**I'm Alice Angel!**" She bellowed, ending the song abruptly, causing the monitors to flicker off.

The disfigured Alice then banged her arms on the window, breaking the glass and killing the spotlight; leaving them in total darkness once again.

Henry kept his arm around Linda as the Twisted Angel let out a sinister laugh.

"I see you there." She taunted. "A new fly in my endless web, and what's this?_ He dragged a moth with him_."

Linda moved closer to Henry as much as she could. She didn't like this angel one bit; she wouldn't even refer to her as an angel.

"Come along now." Alice said in a sickly-sweet tone. "Let's see if you're worthy to walk with angels."

The lights then slowly turned on and Henry loosened his grip on Linda.

The Twisted Angel was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

_**A/N: And back into the creepiness we go! Twisted Alice is going to be a bit of pain for me to write as I do not like her that much. I would've rather much bothered with Ink Bendy during Chapter Three of the the game than do her errands.**_

_**I also decided to put a content warning for this chapter, just in case. **_

_**Edit: I realized I forgot the last part of Shawn Flynn's message, so I just quickly added it in.**_


	8. Chapter 8: A Mother's Touch

_**Chapter 8: A Mother's Touch**_

* * *

"Which way should we go?" Linda asked as they approached a post with two signs pointing to two different halls; one was labeled "_**The **__**Demon**_" while the other was labeled "_**The Angel**_".

"They both lead to the same place, so it really doesn't matter in the end." Henry replied. "The only difference is the demon side has a room that's flooded with ink."

Linda looked at him as she raised a brow.

"And the angel side?"

"It's just a lounge of some kind with some Alice Angel stuff in it." He answered as he gave her a smile. "I'm sure you're tired walking in ink, so we will go with the angel path."

"How considerate." Linda smiled back; she no longer even wore her pumps as they had been wrecked by the ink soaking into them. "But I will go anywhere you go. Besides, in this place, there's always a guarantee you'll get drenched in ink."

Henry couldn't help but chuckle at her statement.

"Ain't that the truth."

As they entered the hallway, Linda perked up as she heard a shutter close.

"The demon path has been blocked off." Henry explained. "We're only allowed to choose one path."

Linda was a bit puzzled by that.

"Why? You said they lead to the same area."

Her husband shrugged.

"Don't know. I think Alice is trying to be poetic in a way."

Walking into the small lounge, Linda saw another tape recorder sitting on a couch, next to an Alice doll.

"That one has a message from Susie Campbell, the first actress to voice Alice Angel." Henry said as he picked up the tape recorder.

He then pressed the play button and a voice of a distressed woman cried out of the recorder's speakers:

_Everything feels like it's coming apart._

_When I walked into the recording booth today, Sammy was there with that...Allison._

_Apparently I didn't get the memo. Alice Angel will now be voiced by Miss Allison Pendle._

_A part of me died when he said that._

_There's gotta be a way to fix this!_

Once the recording ended, Linda couldn't help but feel sympathy for the actress.

"The poor dear, showbiz isn't that easy."

"Not at all." Henry replied in agreement as they continued walking. "That living, horrible version of Alice we saw, she was Susie."

"But how?" Linda asked, taken aback.

"The Ink Machine Joey had made for him to create living cartoons had changed and corrupted her with its tainted ink." Henry replied. "By turning it on, I set the monsters like her free. I set '_Bendy_' free. It's my fault everyone here is suffering."

Placing a hand on his cheek, Linda had him look at her. Stopping him in his tracks as he stared back.

"It is not your fault Henry." She said. "I don't know what all he's done, but you are _not_ responsible for Joey's actions."

Henry stared into her eyes before gently taking her hand in his.

"Let's go find Boris."

Reaching the end of the hall, Linda nearly had a heart attack as a Bendy cut-out quickly peeked out from the corner. Linda crossed her arms and tsked as she saw it was only Boris. If he had a tail, he'd be rapidly wagging it back and forth as he smiled at the couple.

"That wasn't very funny, Boris." She had scolded him in a playful tone. She couldn't be mad at the toon wolf; she was just glad to see he was alright.

Linda then noticed Boris was holding a pipe of sorts. The word "_**GENT**_" was branded on it.

"We will need this for protection." Henry said as he took the pipe.

"Don't I get a weapon?" Linda asked.

Boris patted himself down and checked his pockets before giving her a shrug in response.

"Purse it is then." She replied, grabbing on to the strap.

"That should be a good weapon." Henry teased as they entered a room with more Bendy, Boris, and Alice.

"Don't doubt the power of a woman's purse." Linda replied giving him a playful look as if telling him he better watch himself.

She nearly slipped as wet ink was splattered on the floor, however Boris was quick enough to catch her from behind. Linda looked up at the toon wolf and smiled.

"Thanks buddy."

Boris smiled, but it quickly changed to a look of fear as an ink creature rose from the ink. Henry was quick to act as he whipped around and forcefully brought down the GENT pipe on the creature's head, causing it to splatter and return to the ink.

"Are you alright?"

Linda nodded as she repositioned herself to walk.

"Yes, we're fine."

They soon approached a metal door blocking their path. It needed two levers to be pulled down simultaneously to open. Henry went down the hall to find the other lever while Linda waited with Boris, who had found the first lever. She then noticed a Bendy statue standing off the side behind the toon wolf and wondered what it was for.

Was it another form of worship from the Ink Demon's followers?

She then heard a loud garbled cry coming down the hall; seeing Henry back out into the opening as he fought a mangled version of '_Charley_' one of the three Butcher Gang characters.

Linda was reminded of the horrid looking creatures she had encountered with the Ink Demon as he maliciously tore them limb from limb in a fit of rage; ink had splattered everywhere like humongous black rain drops. She had seemed to zone out as she flinched from Boris' touch as he placed a gloved hand on her shoulder, giving her a look of concern.

She gave Boris' hand an assuring pat as she smiled at him.

"Okay Boris, pull!" Henry called out as Linda realized he went back down the hall he disappeared in, the '_Charley_' now nothing but ink splatters.

* * *

The lift chimed as it came to a stop and the gates opened. Henry walked out with a wrench in his hand as he set off to do a task for Alice.

The Twisted Angel had promised freedom in exchange for some errands to be completed, and right now she wanted Henry to collect some spare parts for her machines.

To Henry's relief, Linda had decided it was best she stayed in the elevator with Boris. After what they had seen in Alice's lair, she couldn't leave him alone.

At the time, Boris had ran on ahead of Linda and Henry only to stop in a room full of dead Boris clones all strapped down on operating tables, their chests split open as their organs had been harvested. Some Butcher Gang creatures shared the same fate.

Henry and Linda's Boris only stared at his clone in silence as he could not vocalize what he was feeling, but he was very focused on the copy as he paid no mind to Henry making his way across the lake of Ink on wooden planks.

The Twisted Angel's voice spoke over some speakers, saying how she had to kill the clones to make herself beautiful; it disgusted Linda.

_How could anyone be so cruel?_

Now Boris stayed on the lift, silently watching and waiting for Henry to return.

Linda wasn't sure how she was to bring comfort to the toon wolf after seeing the things they saw, but the mother in her said she needed to try. Without giving it much thought, she hugged Boris tightly.

Boris didn't move at first, but after a couple seconds, Linda could hear him let out a soft whimper as he returned the hug.

Her heart squeezed a bit in her chest as she remembered the time loop.

Boris had been exposed to such horrors more than once. Like Henry, he was cursed to witness the same events over and over.  
Not knowing the toon wolf's fate, Linda silently prayed everything would turn out alright for him.

"Everything's going to be okay, Boris." Linda said, hoping she would be right. "We'll _all_ get out of this somehow."

The toon wolf's muzzle quivered and twitched a bit as his whimpering grew louder. As he nuzzled into her, Linda could tell her was crying.

"**Open the doors! Open the doors!**" Henry screamed at the top of his lungs as he raced out on to the balcony with a familiar tall, inky being practically breathing down his neck as he chased him.

Seeing the inky being and the seeping and flowing ink trails coating the room, Linda quickly pushed the button while Boris cowered and covered his eyes in fear.

The Ink Demon charged down the stairs after Henry, skidding a bit as it reached the bottom and turned to chase Henry into the lift. The demon's skidding gave him enough time to push the doors button.

Slamming into the metal bars of the lift doors, ink splashed off of the Ink Demon's body. He let out a roar as he reached through the bars to claw at Henry, his claws scrapping his back. As he couldn't get to him, the Ink demon grew frustrated and began to pace; knowing that they would have to get close to push any of the floor buttons.

Linda watched as the Ink Demon stopped pacing to look between her and Henry. She could hear him make a soft groaning sound before it ripped out into another roar.

"Now you cut that out!" Linda scolded as she put her hands on her hips, getting a burst of courage.

The Ink Demon tilted his head and let out a confused grunt.

Boris peeked between his fingers to look at Linda while Henry gave her a look of bewilderment.

"You can't get us in here." She pointed out. "And we won't let you in. Now move along."

The Ink Demon growled and let out a huff before turning and limping away towards the wall, forming an ink portal to leave.

"Linda, you just told off the Ink Demon." Henry said, still rather astonished to what he had just witnessed. "When I try to do that, it just makes him lash out more as he takes it as a challenge."

"Well, I suppose his discipline needs a mother's touch." She replied. "I've been handling kids as a parent and a teacher for years."

Henry smiled.

"That you have."

* * *

_**A/N: Mama Linda is a formidable force- nah, just kidding. Or am I? **_


	9. Chapter 9: A Drop Into Hell

_**Chapter 9: A Drop Into Hell**_

* * *

Henry had just finished the Twisted Angel's errand where she had him chop up _grinning demons_, which turned out to be the Bendy cut-outs on level K, with an axe. Linda and Boris watched from the lift as Henry now stood at the metal doors to Alice's lair, hearing her voice boom out of the speakers.

"The disgusting wretches have wandered my halls, have gone unchecked! They're trying to drag me back to the darkness! Don't let them take your angel! Purge them one by one! Smash them into puddles! **Kill them!**"

Her voice was a mix between fear and anger.

Linda tried her best to see what was going on as she saw the deformed Butcher Gang members hobble their way down the stairs towards the metal doors. Henry moved in to attack the intruders with his GENT pipe, no longer holding the axe.

He probably should've kept it.

The sound of garbled cries and splattering was all Linda could hear before everything became deathly quiet. The battle was over.

"So quiet." Alice's voice rang out of the speakers, seeming to have calmed down as the threat was no more. "Like a welcoming grave. I like the silence, don't you?"

"_Not in this place._" Linda replied softly, turning her head a bit to see Boris nod in agreement.

She soon saw Henry, covered in fresh ink, as he approached Alice's metal doors once again. He seemed more tired than before, as if he would collapse at any moment.

"I hate leaving work unfinished!" Alice hissed. "Fortunately, I have _you_ to pick up the pieces."

Linda wondered how much longer Henry would have to run errands for the Twisted Angel. Would she even let them leave like she had promised?

"But you'll have to go _deeper_." Alice continued. "_Down, down, down into the abyss_. Take the lift down. Say hello to an _old friend_."

Once Henry returned to the lift, Linda pushed the doors button so he could get in.

"This is the last errand." He sighed as he pushed the button for floor fourteen.

"Will she keep her promise?" Linda asked. "Will she help us leave this place?"

She felt she already knew the answer as Henry remained silent.

The lift began to descend.

They had soon descended into a large dark room. The only light seemed to be on the deck and the lower balcony below it. Linda could see that this room, like some many before it, was flooded in ink. The studio had a major leak problem.

As the lift came to a stop, Henry stepped out and approached a dead deformed '_Edgar_', holding it's own inky heart; the sight made Linda a bit pale. Once Henry picked up the heart with his bare hands, making her slightly squeamish at the squishy sound it made, Linda nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard a monstrous screeching sound from below.

"_Shh...There he is._" Alice's voice announced in a hushed tone. "_The Projectionist. Skulking in the darkness._"

Linda had walked out of the lift to the creature for herself as she peered over the wooden railing at Henry's side.

Trudging out into the open was a tall inky figure with a projector for a head, the light flickering out of it showing it was on. A film reel was wedged into one of the creature's shoulders and a speaker had fused into its chest. Linda had a feeling that was where the sound came from.

"You be sure to stay out of his light, if you don't want _trouble_." Alice teased. "Just bring back the pieces I need."

"She needs you to collect _hearts_?" Linda asked, feeling sick again as she looked at the inky vital organ in Henry's hand.

"Yeah, the Projectionist collects them for himself." Henry replied, not minding the inky heart in his hand as if he were desensitized to it. "I have to go down into the maze and collect four more. Stay with Boris, I'll be back soon."

* * *

Linda had counted the times she heard the Projectionist's piercing shriek echo out the maze Henry had entered; three times she had heard it. She began to worry for his safety as she didn't care how many times he performed this finale task for Alice, it was still dangerous.

Fortunately, Boris was there to offer her some comfort which she showed appreciation for by scratching behind his ears. Linda couldn't help but giggle a bit as he leaned into her hand, enjoying the action like a dog would.

She paused as she heard the Projectionist cry out for the fourth time.

_Henry must've found the fourth heart._

Confirming her assumption, Linda could see Henry splashing through the ink as she peered over the railing once again. She soon the Projectionist appear not too far behind as he quickly sloshed out of the maze after Henry.

Henry was almost at to the lift as he reached the stairs to the deck, but he let out a cry as he a board underneath him broke, trapping his foot.

"Henry!" Linda cried as she rushed over and attempted to free him.

"Get back to the Lift!" Henry yelled as he tried to pull himself out, holding the five hearts in his arms.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Linda refused as she continued to pull up on Henry's leg.

The Projectionist's screeching and flickering light caught the couple's attention as he rounded the corner.

They didn't have much time.

As Linda desperately continued to try to free her husband, she managed to see a box smash on the Projectionist's head. She looked up to see Boris preparing to drop a barrel on to the enraged creature.

The Projectionist looked up at Boris, letting out another screech as the toon wolf tipped the barrel on to him. The barrel seemed to have a bit of weight to it as it knocked the Projectionist down.

Finally, Linda managed to get Henry free and helped him up the last couple steps. As they looked back to see the Projectionist stagger back up on to his feet, they rushed into the lift where Boris was now waving them over in silent panic.

Henry quickly pressed the button for the ninth level, letting out a heavy sigh in relief as they ascended before the Projectionist could get to them.

* * *

"It seems we reached the end of my to-do list, _my little errand boy_." Alice's voice chimed in once Henry deposited the five inky hearts into the box at the side of her metal doors. "I hope you _enjoyed_ our time together. I'll _always_ treasure it."

"_**Hardly.**_" Linda muttered, not liking the Twisted Angel's words. Fortunately, she knew Henry would never be unfaithful to her; especially with a deranged toon angel.

"Return to the lift." Alice commanded. "It's time to go _home_."

As soon as Henry entered the lift, its doors closed behind them and it started to go up the shaft.

Linda noticed Boris was trembling a bit and gently took his hand in hers.

"Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like?" Alice asked in a soft, innocent voice, almost like how the cartoon version of Alice would sound. "I like to dream that it's quite beautiful. A soft valley of grass, blanketed by a warm sun. I don't think I'll ever get to see it."

The Twisted Angel's words were not comforting to Linda in the slightest, and going by how tense Henry seemed to be, she wasn't in the wrong to feel that way.

"Are you ready to _ascend_, my little errand boy?" Alice asked. "_The heavens are waiting._"

She then sounded as if she were crying, but then it quickly turned into sinister laughter.

Linda let out a sharp yelp as the lift began to plummet down the shaft, sending sparks flying upwards. Henry grabbed on to her and pulled her into a tight embrace and Boris joined in on the hug, squeezing his pie-cut eyes shut.

"Did you really think I'd let you _**steal**_ from me?!" Alice bellowed over the speakers. "Did you really think I'd just let you go?! _**No, Henry!**_ I _**know **_who you are! And I know _**why **_you're here! And you _**will not stop**_ _**what needs to be done! **_Now come down and bring me back my Boris!"

_Boris?!_

_**No!**_

_There was no way she was going to get him!_

"It's the most _**perfect **_Boris I've ever seen, and _**I want it!**_" Alice continued to screech. "I _**need**_ it! I _**need its insides**_ so that I can be _**beautiful again!**_ Don't you understand?"

_No._

"_**Don't you get it?**_"  
_**NO.**_

"Give him to me! Or better yet, I'll take him! _**Once...you're...DEAD!**_"

The trio continued to plummet down the shaft until everything went black as the lift crashed at the last floor.

Boris, being made of ink and a toon, suffered minor injuries as he crawled out of the wreckage. He carefully pulled Linda and Henry out and tried to get them wake up, hoping they were still alive. He was unaware of the approaching danger.

Opening her eyes a bit, Linda saw the poor toon wolf suddenly dragged away by Alice. She couldn't help but watch as Boris reached out towards them, looking like he was calling out to them.

_Ma! Pa!..._

"_Boris..._" Linda whimpered as tears began to spill from her eyes.

* * *

_**A/N: Wanted to cut out majority of the tasks as they would be annoying to type out, but wanted to keep the finale task in there. To clear the ending up a bit, Boris views Henry and Linda as his Ma and Pa. Poor Buddy.**_


	10. Chapter 10: Harbinger

_**Chapter 10: Harbinger**_

* * *

As Linda regained consciousness for the second time, she realized she had passed out again. Her head was throbbing and she wanted to sleep, but she knew that was a bad idea. Especially if she had signs of concussion. She looked over at Henry to see that he was still passed out; fortunately, he was still breathing.

"Henry, can you hear me?" Linda asked as she gently shook him.

He started to groan as he put his hand to his head.

"That drop never gets easier..."

Linda looked around and realized someone was missing.

_A cartoon wolf._

_A friendly cartoon wolf._

_He had a name._

_Started with a 'B'..._

_..._

_Boris!_

"Henry! Boris! He's-"

"Alice took him." Henry interrupted as she watched him wipe ink from his mouth.

_Wait._

_Ink?!_

He gave her a small smile as he noticed her staring, there was a hint of sadness behind it.

"This place changes people." He explained. "One way or another."

"You're one of them now?" Linda asked, trying to make sense of it all.

"Not quite." Henry groaned as he went to stand up. "Though a few more time loops and I might be."

Linda frowned at the thought of her husband becoming an ink creature, becoming corrupted like Susie when the ink turned her into Alice Angel.

"I won't let that happen, Henry." She said as she went to stand up, Henry offered his hand to her and helped her the rest of the way.

"I believe you, Linda, but I don't think you could prevent it from happening anyways." He replied with a frown.

"I'll find a way." Linda assured.

The conversation ended as they headed down the corridor, up to a sign for _**Grant Cohen's Office **_pointed to the right, and _**R&D and the Archives **_pointed to the left.

"The door to the R&D and the Archives is missing its valve to open it." He explained. "It's in the office."

"How did it get in there?" Linda asked.

"I believe Alice did it." Henry answered. "She knows we're coming for Boris and she wants to slow us down."

Linda felt chills go down her spine as Henry opened the office door; messages were written all over the walls and floor, most of them repeating about money. Her gaze landed on another tape recorder sitting on a desk and pressed the play button. She instantly regretted it as sounds of a horrible struggle filled the room. The tape ended with a soft growling sound before it turned off with a click.

"I think that was Grant Cohen before he turned into a _'searcher'_." Henry spoke up, holding the missing valve.

"'_Searcher'_?" Linda questioned as if the term sounded unusual.

"They're the more shapeless ink creatures in the studio." Henry said as he tried to explain it to her. "At least the lower half of them is. They're more common and aggressive than the _'lost ones'_."

Linda followed Henry out of the small office and into the hall.

"They didn't seem aggressive when I was with the Ink Demon." She said.

"That's because they know they can't over power him." Henry replied. "Like Alice had said once she sent me on the first errand: everyone down here has one rule they all follow and respect, and that is to beware the Ink Demon."

As they reached the metal door, Henry twisted on the valve into place and opened the door. Upon entering the room, Linda looked up to see a Bendy statue as stage lights turned on around it to reveal frozen inky figures standing in front of the statue in various poses. It almost looked like they were begging for something from the cartoony demon.

Above the statue was a banner:

_**HE WILL SET US FREE!**_

Linda kept her eye on the figures as her and Henry walked around the stage; she felt as though they would move the moment their backs were turned. They soon entered a room with shelves full of books along with safes built into the wall.

They were in the Archives.

Henry made his way around the circular room, pushing in books that were strangely sticking out of the shelves. Linda noticed with each book he pushed in, a light bulb over an exit. The books acted as a switch for each of the five bulbs.

As he pushed in the third book, Henry winced in pain and held his head as he let out a pained hiss. Concerned, Linda rushed over to him and held on to his arm.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Just a vision." Henry replied as the pain subsided. "They happen every time I reach a certain point of the studio."

This made Linda curious yet nervous as to what he had seen.

"What did you see?"

"The room was shaking, the doors to the safes were swinging on their hinges as if there was an earthquake." He answered. "By the time the vision ends, those figures in before the Bendy statue disappear."

Wanting to see for herself, Linda made her way over to the entrance of the Archives to see Henry was right. The figures were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

The GENT machine rattled after Henry placed a glob of ink into its trough, turned the dial to an image of a gear, and turned the crank. Within a few seconds, the machine spat out a gear they needed in order to fix the contraption for the bridge cart.

The appearance of the bridge cart made Linda nervous as it hung over a deep cavern. She didn't want to know how far down the bottom was.

Henry placed the gear into place and pulled the lever, causing the rickety bridge cart to move towards them. He was the first to step into the wooden box and held his hand out to Linda.

"Henry, are you sure this is safe?" She asked as she hesitantly approached.

"I'm afraid it's the only way to cross." Henry replied. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

Finally taking hold of his hand, Linda stepped into the cart, feeling safer as Henry wrapped an arm around her waist as the began to slowly move across the chasm.

As the bridge cart jerked to a stop at the with a loud clanging noise, Linda clung to her husband as she shrieked.

"I got you! I got you!" Henry assured over and over, tightening his grip around her. "I will _not_ let you fall."

Linda's heart pounded against her chest as the cart started moving again towards the other side. Henry had her step out on the dock first, making sure she grabbed on to the railing.

"Please tell me there are no more caverns we have to travel across." She begged as he stepped out after her.

"Not on a bridge cart." He replied.

Once they had settled down from their little scare, they entered a narrow hall. It was almost like a mine shaft of some sort. Henry gripped his head like he had in the Archives when he had the vision.

"Another vision?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, inky hands were desperately reaching and clawing out from behind the boarded walls." Henry answered. "They were all screaming in agony."

Linda frowned, not liking the sound of these visions so much.

"Why are you getting these visions?"

"I don't know." Henry shrugged as he shook his head. "They just happen."

As they reached the end of the hall, they were now in a stairway. They could only go up as the way down seemed to have been destroyed.

Linda frowned as she heard a familiar angel's voice pipe up from the a speaker somewhere overhead.

"I see you there, my little errand boy. Your angel is _always_ watching."

It was Alice.

Henry didn't seem too happy to hear from her again either as he hastily made his way up the stairs. Linda followed him in silence.

"What is it that keeps you going?" Alice asked. "Is it the thrill of the hunt? The thirst for your freedom? Or perhaps...You're just looking for a little, friendly, _wolf_."

"Boris..." Linda muttered.

Henry remained silent as he continued upward as if he were ignoring Alice's taunting.

"Better hurry." Alice warned. "Boris is having trouble staying in once piece."

"What did you do to Boris?!" Linda yelled up at the ceiling, only earning laughter from the Twisted Angel.

"What did she do to him?" She asked as she looked at Henry.

He let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry Linda, but Boris...He's not going to be himself when we see him again."

Linda tried to keep herself from crying as she swallowed hard.

"I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"No matter how much I try, there's been no way I could save him." Henry said, looking full of guilt.

"W-we have to try." Linda replied as she broke down and fell to her knees. "We can't just let him die..."

Henry knelt down and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

At the top of the stairway, Henry and Linda entered a lounge with two couches. A record player was softly playing music as it was left sitting on one of the couches.

Still feeling rather distraught about Boris, Linda was distracted from her thoughts as she looked up at the balcony above the lounge as she spotted a inky figure with glowing yellow eyes walk on by. He was muttering to himself mournfully and full of fear as he started to say something about wanting to go home. She felt sympathy for the creature as that was what she wanted as well: to be home with her husband.

Linda and Henry soon found themselves being stared by a bunch of the glowing eye figures as they entered the next room.

"_'Lost ones'_." Henry whispered to her.

As soon as they had seemed to somehow recognize Linda, the lost ones started to become more lively, yet remained miserable. Henry was puzzled by they behavior as they leaned to whisper to one another as one of them boldly approached Linda.

"Oh Great Harbinger, it is an honor to have you walk among us." He said. "Please, Great Harbinger! Bring our lord to us so that he may finally answer our prayers!"

Linda was speechless as she was put on the spot. She looked around the room to all of the lost ones were staring her down as they started to gather around her.

"I'm sorry, I'm not who you think I am." Linda said as she gathered her thoughts, taking a step back.

"But you were with our lord!" One of the other lost ones cried. "He didn't shun you like the others who displeased him!"

"Yes, but obviously I'm not with him now." She replied. "I'm so sorry."

She felt bad for the miserable beings, but she couldn't pretend to be someone for them she was not. Linda watched as the lost ones turned to one another and started to debate amongst themselves about the matter in hushed tones.

_"She must be the Harbinger. The Prophet said so..."_

_"The Ink Demon is displeased with us! He'll never set us free!..."_

Before Linda could get lost in their whispering words, Henry gently pulled her away, walking her over to a vent.

"What's all this about you being the Ink Demon's _Harbinger_?" He asked, grabbing a flash light sitting in the opening of the vent.

"It's what the Prophet called me when he found out I've been around the Ink Demon." Linda replied.

"_Prophet_?" Henry asked, but then he seemed to understand who she meant. "You must be talking about Sammy. He used to write music for the cartoons, but like Susie, the ink tainted him."

Linda frowned. It seemed the ink corrupted anyone it touches, and so far they were covered in it.

"Do you think the ink will taint us?"

"I hope not." Henry replied. "And I don't want to stick around to find out."

* * *

_**A/N: I am aware that I may be using the term 'harbinger' wrong as it's generally something that comes prior to something, but given the state Sammy's mind is at, who's to say he would use terms correctly? Or perhaps he believes that since Linda was around the Ink Demon, she has a way to bring him forth? I don't even know and I'm the author! **_

_**Anyways, I hope you managed to enjoy this chapter. I apologize for the horrid flow of story-telling and dialog. I need to work on that.**_


	11. Chapter 11: Bendy Hell

_**Chapter 11: Bendy Hell**_

* * *

Henry lead the way as he and Linda crawled into the vent. Linda made sure to move carefully so that the skirt of her ink stained dress wouldn't get caught and slow them down; the vents didn't feel safe to crawl through. She flinched as something banged against a vent cover that lead into a room up ahead.

Henry was still as the Ink Demon had slammed himself against the slats of the cover.

He knew they were in there.

Linda held her breath as she watched the Ink Demon, her heart pounding as she expected him to tear off the cover and drag them out so that he could get his inky claws on them. However, it never happened.

Instead, the Ink Demon teased them as he slowly ran an inky clawed finger along a slat before walking off and made a curtain of ink pour in front of the vent, blocking a way out.

Linda listened as Henry let out a soft sigh and turned a corner.

"He normally leaves after that, but lately he's been a bit more unpredictable as of late." He explained, keeping his voice low in case the Ink Demon was still lurking nearby. "We need to be careful."

They quietly crawled through the vents until they finally reached an opening. Henry dropped the flashlight on the floor and crawled out into a large room. He then turned around and assisted Linda as she carefully crawled out as well, noticing a set of locked metal doors to her left.

The sign above the doors hinted it was some kind of storage unit.

Linda looked to see Henry walking up some stairs and quickly went to follow him up them.

"**COME UP AND SEE ME**" was painted on the wall, and on another were the words "**ALMOST THERE**" after the first set of stairs. Linda swore she could hear running ink behind the wall as it was leaking out of the corners. She also thought she could hear voices similar to the ones she would hear into the ink tunnels.

As they reached the top of the last set of stairs, Henry entered what appeared to be a giant Bendy's mouth. Inside was a table with a miniature display of a park's layout and boards with concept art of rides and attractions. On the table, there was also a tape recorder next to the display.

Curious as to what this one had to say, Linda pressed play.

_For forty years, I've built attractions that stagger the imagination! Colossal wonders such as the world has never seen! I have earned my legacy with sweat._

_But right in front of everyone...high level investors, Wall Street tycoons, the ever-tactless Joey Drew introduces me, the great Bertrum Piedmont, as Bertie! Like I was his child._

_You may be paying me, Mister Drew! But you don't own me! I'll build you a park bigger than anything YOU could ever possibly conceive! But before you go taking any bows, Mister Drew, know that this grand achievement will belong to me...and to me alone._

The tape ended with a click as usual and Linda could feel the tension in the air. Henry placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"I pulled the lever for the storage unit. It should be open now."

"I didn't know Joey wanted a theme park." Linda said as she walked with him down the stairs.

"Neither did I when I first went through here." Henry replied. "But it never got a chance to see the light of day as things didn't go as planned. Now everything that was built is stuck in storage."

As they approached the now open storage room, the lights turned on and a sign for "_Bendy Land_" lit up. However, the word "Land" was replaced with the word "Hell" in ink.

A lone lost one was sitting on top of a hanging cage, making Linda a bit nervous as to how they would react upon seeing her. But they didn't seem to mind neither her nor Henry.

"Boris is in the Haunted House ride." Henry said as he lead the way down the stairs and up to a big haunted house ride type structure, passing by closed booths and shelves with various ride parts and equipment. "If we want to get to him in time, we have to power it up by pulling four switches scattered in the blocked sections of the storage room..."

"Let's go find them then." Linda replied. "Where's the first one?"

"By the game booths." Henry answered as he made his way towards the booths. They were now open.

Before Linda could question as to how they opened, Henry started to shoot at targets with a pellet gun. She was amazed at how skilled he was at the game let out a congratulatory chime.

"I've played these games more than enough times." Henry said with a smile. "By now I could probably play them with my eyes closed."

"Oh yeah?" Linda asked as she raised a brow. "Think you can knock down all the milk cans in the next one?"

"Only one way to find out." He replied as he approached the counter to the second booth.

Henry picked up one ball and threw it as hard as he could at the first stack of milk cans on top of one of the barrels, the proceeded to do the same to the other stacks. One milk can was standing on each barrel, but he was still given a victory chime.

"Not bad, but that wasn't all of them." Linda said with a slight chuckle.

"Nah, I'm not that good." Henry replied as he headed towards the metal doors beside the booths as they opened.

Linda stifled a shriek as she spotted three uncanny looking Bendy suits hanging on the wall.

"Sorry, I should've warned you." Henry chuckled lightly before pulling a switch. "They gave me quite a scare when I first saw them too."

* * *

Linda and Henry looked down from the balcony, their gazes fixed on three Butcher Gang members surrounding a burning barrel. They seemed to be focused on the fire to even notice the couple's arrival.

"How many copies of these guys are there?" Linda asked in a hushed voice so she wouldn't alert them.

"I'm not sure myself." Henry replied. "But we need to get around them if we want to save Boris...Though we may be too late."

Linda frowned.

"We can't give up now."

She turned to look at Henry as she noticed him picking up empty cans of bacon soup.

"These will help distract them for a bit." Henry said as he grabbed a couple resting on the wooden railing. "Once I throw one, we need to make a run for the hall on the left."

Linda nodded as she knew what needed to be done, and quietly followed him down the stairs. Henry took a couple steps forward before chucking an empty can towards the far right.

'_Charley_', '_Barley_', and '_Edgar' _hobbled over towards the direction the can had landed, garbling to one another.

Henry ran as quickly as quietly as he could with Linda close behind him, going unnoticed in the left hallway. Linda looked to her right to see a lost one in a fetal position, crying their eyes out behind a chain-linked wall; trapping them inside. The lost one didn't even look towards them as they walked by.

They soon entered a small workspace with a lever on the wall. Henry pulled it and stumbled a bit as an empty can slipped out of his arms and landed on the floor with a loud clang. He looked at Linda with wide eyes.

Before he could say anything to her, the Butcher Gang were already making their way down the hall towards them. Henry backed away towards Linda as the three deformed toons blocked their only way out.

"Stay back!" Henry yelled as he threw cans at their heads.

It slowed them down but it also made them more upset.

Soon Henry was out of cans and the angry twisted toons charged.

Removing her purse's strap from her shoulder, Linda swung her purse at the Butcher Gang. The three toons cried out and tried to fight back, but ended up backing away and cowering as the purse was swung forcefully at their heads.

"Leave us alone!" Linda yelled as she continued to use her purse as a weapon.

The Butcher Gang hobbled away, crying out their retreat in gibberish nonsense.

Henry couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"You were right, I _really shouldn't_ doubt the power of a woman's purse."

Linda smiled at him as she pulled the strap over her shoulder.

"I'm always right."

They both walked back out into the main room and saw their attackers cower behind their barrel.

"Well it seems they won't bother us now." Henry said. "Now we can just enter the other hall and pull the next switch without a problem."

Seeing the deformed toons shiver before them was enough to make Linda feel guilty for what she done. She carefully approached the trio and knelt down to their level.

The Butcher Gang watched her every move.

"I'm sorry for hitting you." Linda apologized. "But I had to defend myself and my husband from you three attacking us. I'm sure you had your reasons as we are not like anyone else here and were just trying to defend what little you have. You three were just scared."

The three deformed toons looked at one another and then back at Linda.

"I promise I won't hit either of you again. We mean no harm." She continued. "Can we be friends?"

'_Edgar_' cautiously came out around the barrel and approached Linda, the teeth on top his head chattering a bit before he gave her a hug. Henry was speechless as he watched the other two come out from hiding to join their companion in the embrace.

* * *

_**A/N: Linda has three new sons, but I don't know if y'all should get attached to 'em. Their fates are unknown. Also, I am scolding myself as this is supposed to be a horror/suspense fic, not fluff, but I can't help it. **_

_**I have a soft spot the twisted toons. **_

_**Except for Alice. If any of you like her, that's fine. I'm just not a big fan of her.**_


	12. Chapter 12: Misfortune

_**Chapter 12: Misfortune**_

* * *

The Butcher Gang stayed close to Linda as they followed human couple over to the power box beside the Haunted House ride, acting weary of Henry even though he had no weapon on him. Henry couldn't blame them as he was a bit weary of them as well, but was willing to try to be friends with them for Linda's sake. He was still surprised how quickly the three deformed toons warmed up to her, despite the fact she had swung her purse at them.

Each time Henry looked back at the Butcher Gang to see what they were up to as they followed, the three toons huddled closer behind his wife yet acted tough in their nonsensical speech.

Linda couldn't help but find it a little funny, though she did hope they would come to trust Henry over time.

"We're close to opening the Haunted House." Henry said as he pulled the switch and started walking over to the other end of the storage room. "The closer we get to opening it, the more risky things get."

The small group followed Henry past some shelves through a path that lead to an Attraction Storage. '_Edgar_' paused as he saw a dead copy of himself laying by a wall, reminding Linda how Boris looked when he saw dead copies of himself in Alice's lair. She placed a hand on the twisted toon spider's tiny shoulder out of sympathy.

"We won't let that happen to you." She assured, attempting to bring him some comfort. "Not without a fight."

'_Charley_' and '_Barley_' seemed to have been inspired by Linda's words as they joined in to comfort their spider friend, waving their wrenches in the air like they were ready for battle.

Linda smiled as she was touched by the Butcher Gang's bond, they may have been villains and would often pick on one another in the cartoons, but they were still loyal to one another like brothers.

Looking over at Henry, Linda saw him standing at a work table with an octopus or monster type ride sitting in the center of the room. It had four arms with three carts at the end of each arm. Something about the ride was off.

As Linda approached, she saw the tape recorder on the work table.

"You will want to stay back." Henry warned as he pressed play on the recorder.

_The biggest park ever built, a centerfold of attractions. Each one more grand than the one before it._

The voice of Bertrum Piedmont spoke from the recording.

_It makes my eyes come to tears at the thought._

_But then...oh Mister Drew._

_For all your talk of dreams, you are the true architect behind so many nightmares. I built this park. It was to be a masterpiece! My masterpiece!_

_And now you think you can throw me out? Trample me to the dust and forget me? No! This is my park! My glory!_

The lights around the base of the ride lit up as the ride started to move its four arms.

_You may think I've gone...__**But I'm still here!**_

The tape ended as the shutters on the ride opened up to reveal a large bloated face of a man inside the machine, as if he were fused to it. Linda covered her mouth as she let out a shocked yelp.

The ride started to turn its arms quickly and swing its arms wildly. The carts at the ends of the of the arms spun in the opposite direction of the ride, causing a bit of a dizzying effect. One of the arms smashed the table in front of Henry, breaking the tape recorder in the process and revealing an axe.

Henry quickly grabbed the axe as the ride stopped and thrashed two corresponding arms about. As the arms began to malfunction from their erratic movements, he ran up and chopped at the two bolts holding the joints of the arm together.

The monster ride reacted as if in pain and started to spin again, knocking Henry down with one of its carts.

Linda ran up to him, falling to her stomach to avoid getting hit. She looked up to see one of the arms stop above the and pulled Henry out of range as the ride tried to crush them with its carts.

The Butcher Gang let out war cries as they quickly hobbled their way up to the malfunctioned arms to attack the bolts.

"Wait!" Linda cried out, not wanting to see them get hurt or worse, but her cry landed on deaf ears.

'_Charley_' crawled into a cart and started to crawl up the arm with his good arm and good leg, breaking off the last remaining bolts of the arm Henry attacked. The weakened arm broke off and '_Barley_' and '_Edgar_' tried to follow their leader's example. However, the ride started to move again, moving faster than before to throw the deformed toons off. '_Charley_', missing a hand and using part of a plunger for a leg, couldn't quite climb into one of the carts of the next arm as he tried to get on to climb up to attack the bolts but was sent flying into some crates with a wail.

Henry gripped his axe as he watched the other two manage to stay on before running over to '_Charley_' and moving him to the side to safety.

"You did well." Henry praised. "Now stay here and let us take care of the rest."

The monster ride stopped yet again to thrash its arms about, seeming not to learn how doing so caused its arms to break down and become vulnerable.

'_Edgar_' and '_Barley_' took out the bolts on the arms as they clung on, breaking them off and leaving one arm left. The two toons hobbled as fast as they could to join '_Charley_', but the deformed sailor toon was struck by the last set of carts, splattering some ink as he was sent tumbling across the floor.

"Oh my god!" Linda cried out as she kept herself from running out to him, it was much too dangerous as the ride spun its remaining arms about madly.

"Barley!" Henry called out, hoping the old deformed sailor was alright. Even if they were once enemies in previous time loops, this '_Barley_' had risked his own life to help in the fight that had yet to be finished.

As soon as the last arm broke down, Henry ran towards it with axe in the air. Linda joined beside him, holding on to '_Charley's_' wrench. She took one side and Henry took the other. After destroying the arm, the monster ride spun around until coming to a sudden stop as the the giant head inside tilted to the side and hung limp as ink spilled from the mouth. The shutters of the ride slowly closed as metal doors to a power switch opened.

Linda quickly made her way over to '_Barley_' as '_Edgar_' approached his fallen brethren. '_Charley_' even limped over from where he was sitting. Linda placed the sailor toon's hanging head on her lap as she got down on her knees.

Henry got down beside her and gently rubbed her backed as he noticed '_Barley_' was limp and bleeding out ink.

"He was such a brave sailor." Linda wept.

"That he was." Henry agreed before looking at '_Charley_' and '_Edgar_'. "I'm sorry you lost a friend, but thank you for your help. I know what it's like to lose a friend."

He then stood up and went to go pull the switch.

* * *

Linda was silent as she followed Henry out into the main storage room with '_Charley_' and '_Edgar_' following close behind. She didn't know why exactly she got so attached to their Butcher Gang when other copies of the gang tried to attack them before. She didn't understand why she felt heartbroken as she had seen several copies of '_Barley_' slaughtered by the Ink Demon. Perhaps it was because the ink beings in the studio were much more than ink.

They were _alive_.

Pulling the third switch on the power box, Henry looked down at the remaining Butcher Gang members. They didn't hide behind Linda like they had before. He sighed and knelt down to their levels.

"We will understand if you stay behind this time. It's pretty dangerous up ahead, and neither of us want you to get hurt."

'_Charley_' and '_Edgar_' looked at one another before looking up at Linda, who bit her lip as she looked back at them. Henry was right, she didn't want to see them get hurt, and she had a bad feeling about the next room the switch was in.

"We'll come back for you." She assured the two before looking up at Henry as he nodded in agreement.

"It shouldn't take us too long." He said.

'_Edgar_' gave a salute as he let out a confident screech; he seemed to believe them. '_Charley_' remained silent, only letting out pained grunts.

"A can of bacon soup should help make you feel better." Henry told the Butcher Gang leader. "I'll bring you some if I can find any."

The human couple walked over to the final door, leaving the two deformed toons behind as they entered a room with words "_**CHOO! CHOO!**_" written a couple times on the walls. There were also posters of Bendy conducting a train.

As they walked through a metal valved door, Linda noticed a miracle station and froze as she noticed a flickering light coming from the set of stairs that lead down to an ink flooded floor. She could hear heavy footsteps sloshing in the ink and held her breath as the Projectionist came into view as if her breathing would give her and Henry away.

"There are two levers in this room." Henry said in a hushed voice. "One is for a lift that is currently blocking the stairs to the upper level, and the other is the one we need for to power the last switch we need to open the Haunted House. Once the lever to the lift is pulled, the Projectionist will begin to chase me and I'll run up back here to hide in the miracle station."

He then looked at Linda.

"I need you to stay in the miracle station where it's safe."

"Last time you almost got caught." Linda reminded him, never forgetting how close of a call it was as the Projectionist approached them while Henry was caught on a broken step.

If Boris wasn't there to knock down the monster, they would've been dead.

Or perhaps they would've become ink creatures themselves.

"Let me help."

"The Projectionist will kill you if he catches you." Henry argued.

"Henry, please. Let me help." Linda pleaded. "I don't want you to get killed either."

Oddly enough, Henry chuckled a bit at her statement. It was a sad one, one he wouldn't explain to her.

"I've been married to you long enough to know once your mind is set on something, there's no turning back." He finally said after a moment or two of silence.

"Then you get the lift, and I'll get the power switch." Linda replied.

She watched Henry hesitantly nod in agreement.

He carefully lead her down the stairs as the Projectionist trudged past them a second time in his rounds. Henry stepped into the ink as he kept an eye on the ink creature.

Linda shivered a bit as she also stepped into the cool black ink, staring ahead as two big tank engines greeted her with smiles and pie-cut eyes. Her attention was grabbed once again by Henry as he motioned towards the lift and the stairs.

Walking to the side of the left train as quietly as she could, Linda wanted to gag as she spotted a pile of inky hearts sitting on top of a box. Fortunately, she knew better than to make a sound as she did not want to alert the Projectionist. However, she flinched as she heard the monster's familiar screech and quickly ran up the stairs as the lift rose up, unblocking them. Linda peered over the balcony and watched Henry run through the ink in the direction they came from with the Projectionist in pursuit.

She watched a bit longer to see the ink creature return empty handed, letting out a silently sigh of relief. She then made her way over to the power switch and pulled it down.

The lights suddenly turned off except for the emergency lights on the balcony. Linda did not like the feeling of anxiety rising in her chest as she saw no sign of the Projectionist below and crept over to the stairs.

On her way down, she noticed a tape recorder tucked to the side. Her curiosity got the best of her as there was still no sign of the monster and pressed play. Linda frowned as she heard the voice of Joey Drew.

_I believe there's something special in all of us. _

_With true inner strength, you can conquer even your biggest challenges._

_You just have to believe in yourself and remain honest, motivated, and above all, who you really are._

The message sounded nice, but that quickly changed with Joey's tone.

_Okay, let's stop it right there. I can only do so many takes of this trash a day._

_And tell the guy in writing I want more use of the word dreaming in every message. Keep railing on that, get it? Dreaming! Dreaming! Dreaming! People just eat up that kind of slop._

_Hmm? What? It's still on? Well, turn it off, damn it!_

As the recording stopped, Linda let out a squeal as she saw flickering light in front of her and heard the Projectionist screech furiously as he appeared right behind her. She ran as quickly as she could through the ink, nearly tripping and falling as its thickness slowed her down a bit.

"Linda! Run to the miracle station!" She heard Henry yell as she ran for the stairs that lead them into the storage room.

Linda skipped a step as she managed to get to the top of the stairs and tripped. She winced in pain as it surged through her body. Henry got out of the miracle station and went to help her up, but paused as the Projectionist's light flickered down on them.

* * *

_**A/N: Now this is longest chapter I wrote so far. I've been stewing over how to write this chapter for a while now, and I couldn't just stop after the fight with Bertrum or Barley's death. I had to continue. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter if you read this far. **_


	13. Chapter 13: Reclaimed

_**Chapter 13: Reclaimed**_

* * *

Everything was like it was going in slow motion as Henry and Linda held one another and the Projectionist towered over them, reaching towards them with his inky hand to snatch one of them away. Linda braced herself and closed her eyes tightly as she expected to be ripped away from Henry, but a loud banging sound forced her eyes to open.

Black ink had flowed over the entire room as the Ink Demon charged over to the Projectionist, causing the creature to turn and screech out in alarm. Ignoring the Projectionist's threatening call, the Ink Demon socked his gloved fist into the side of the projector his opponent had for a head. The Projectionist stumbled a bit, forcing the human couple to crawl out of range, and socked the demon's face in retaliation.

Linda and Henry watched the two monsters fight it out as they remained seated, daring not to move from their spot lest they want to get involved.

Not backing down, the Projectionist tackled the Ink Demon and managed to pin him down on the ink covered floor. He then began to brutally beat at the Ink Demon, pounding his inky fist into the demon's face. The Ink Demon showed his sharp jagged teeth as he let out a roar.

Linda looked between Henry and the two fighting ink creatures; Henry appeared to be rather tense as the intense fight grew intensely. She felt a tingling sensation in the back of her mind as if she was the one being beating. She wanted it to stop, but she was certain there was nothing she could do.

Suddenly the Ink Demon kneed the Projectionist off of him, freeing himself from his grip, and got up on all fours and hissed. Soon both were back to standing on their feet began to claw and punch at one another once again.

The Ink Demon quickly grabbed the Projectionist by his throat and lifted him off the floor, watching him squirm in his grip. Linda was unsettled by the sight and leaned closer into Henry. Her eyes widened as she watched the Ink Demon decapitate the Projectionist, making a sickening tearing sound. Ink began to squirt from the open wound in all directions as the light from the Projectionist's head flickered off and the body fell limp with a thud.

Linda and Henry flinched as the Ink Demon tossed the Projection's battered head at them.

It was still squirting ink, making Linda feel sick to her stomach.

Henry's grip on Linda tightened as the Ink Demon stared at them, growling heavily as his signature smile twitched and his body shook.

Limping towards the human couple, the Ink Demon reached out and grabbed Henry roughly by the collar of his shirt. Linda began to panic as she watched her husband dangling in the air before her, trying to get the demon to release him.

"Let him go!" Linda cried out as she furiously swung her purse at the Ink Demon's side, causing him to drop Henry as he let out a shriek. She squealed as the Ink Demon yanked her closer as he grabbed on to her purse, tearing into it with his claws.

Feeling something crawling up her arms and legs, Linda looked down to see ink coating her body. Her eyes widened in horror as the ink seemed to have a mind of its own. She could hardly hear Henry cry out for her as she was soon coated in a thick layer of ink.

All she could see was darkness.

* * *

_**Squelch**_

_**Splat**_

_**Slosh**_

The sound of splattering ink was all Linda could hear as she came into consciousness, her vision was blurry at first but was clearing up slowly as she had a lopsided view of a dark figured hunched over another. As she sat up she realized it was the Ink Demon.

The body he was focused on was of the now headless body of the former Projectionist. She wanted to gag as she watched the Ink Demon tear into it, making more ill-inducing sounds.

It was like watching a toddler play with mushy food with their hands.

Linda closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sight and sounds as she leaned back, realizing she was sitting in a comfortable chair. Her eyes shot open as she looked around at the projection screens above her; playing the same Bendy cartoons on repeat. She was sitting on the make-shift thrown.

She was back in the throne room.

"Why?..." She quietly asked, not expecting an answer. "Why am I back here?"

The Ink Demon looked towards her, ink gripping from his grin.

"I-I have to go back!" Linda said as she stood up. "I have to help Henry and Boris!"

The Ink Demon growled loudly as she took a couple steps forward. Linda frowned, deciding to attempt to be brave.

"What? He's my husband! I'm not leaving this place without him!"

She wasn't quite sure if what she was doing was smart, but she didn't want to have the Ink Demon think he had some sort of power over her. Last time she was safe behind the barred doors of the elevator, but now she had no protection from the being that could kill her effortless if or when he chose to.

The Ink Demon tore off the speaker from the inky corpse and threw it against the metal wall with a loud clang.

It was like watching a child going having a tantrum.

Linda tried hard not to be intimidated as her pounding heart betrayed her.

"Throw a fit all you want, I'm still going to find a way to help Henry. Even if you keep bringing me back here."

Her confidence faltered a bit as the Ink Demon loud growling broke out into a roar. He gripped on to his inky horns like he wanted to pull them off as he shook his head, stomping his way over to and forcefully pointed in the direction behind him.

Linda's eyes followed and she was now staring at the torn, splattered remains of the projectionist. She looked back at the Ink Demon as the ink dripped from his face on to her and took a step back. By now she was used to being drenched in ink, much to her annoyance, but there was something off-putting about the ink that formed the Ink Demon's body. Something made it more _alive_.

Something more _**sinister**_.

Taking a deep breath, Linda tried to regain her confidence back. She had to be stern if she wanted to get through to him. It was the same technique she used with her kids when they acted up.

"Look, I appreciate you saving us when you could've left us for dead, but I'm bringing Henry home."

The Ink Demon grunted as he turned his head as if to look away and pout.

Linda watched his grin twitch and had a vivid vision of the Ink Demon being beaten on by the Projectionist as he had him pinned down. For a moment, she felt the Ink Demon's rage and pain.

The constant agony.

It was a strange sensation, one she didn't like.

"...Are you alright?" Linda asked, earning the Ink Demon's attention once again. "That was quite a struggle you had with the Projectionist."

The Ink Demon slowly reached up with his gloved hand to touch the side of his face, letting out a sound of a distorted whine.

Linda's gaze softened a bit, but refused to let her guard down.

"I'm not getting out of here, am I?"

The Ink Demon only stared at her.

_I'll take that as a 'no'._

* * *

_**A/N: This chapter was giving me a hard time as I was writing it as I had trouble writing out what I wanted the direction of story to go. I apologize for the late update.**_

_**Thanks to all the people that have faved/followed/reviewed my story, you guys help bring back my determination to finish this chapter. **_

_**Hopefully the next one won't be as bad.**_


	14. Chapter 14: Fall of an Angel

_**Chapter 14: Fall of an Angel**_

* * *

_**Content Warning: Torture/Electric shock**_

* * *

Linda did not remember falling asleep as she opened her eyes to find herself strapped down to a cold metal table. She immediately began to struggle as she felt panic rattle in her brain. She was obviously no longer with the Ink Demon. Linda only paused as she noticed a familiar face strapped down to a table next to her.

"_**Boris?**_"

Boris didn't like himself; his body was huge and bulky compared to his former lanky form. Ink squirted in spurts from his open chest cavity, revealing most of his organs. There was also a strange contraption that made it look like he had a wire frame of a dog cone around his head, and his pie-cut eyes were not 'X's.

The now brutish toon wolf seemed to be out of it, yet he was still alive and conscious.

"_**He looks a lot better now, doesn't he?**_"

Turning her head in the direction of the voice, Linda saw Alice standing at her side. The Twisted Angel was staring down at her with a deformed smirk as the gaping holes at the corner of her mouth, showing off her set of teeth, misshaped it.

"What did you _do _to him?"

"I improved him." Alice replied with a low chuckle. "After taking his parts I need to be beautiful again, of course. Weren't you paying attention when you were following your _precious_ Henry around?"

"You will never be beautiful, not with that cold inky heart of yours." Linda retorted

Alice's smirk suddenly turned to sneer as she became furious. Linda watched as the angel approached a control panel and forcefully pulled down a switch.

Pain shot through Linda's body as it began to convulse from electricity surging through it. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, trying to use her arms and legs to break free, but he binds were tight.

The electricity soon stopped its course through her body as Alice turned it off.

"I would watch what you say if I were you." The Twisted Angel warned harshly before smiling again. "I still want to have fun with you."

Linda was panting heavily as tears streamed down her face. She was in so much pain.

"W-why?...Why are you doing this?" She asked, trying to find her voice.

She knew Alice heard her as she approached the table, leaning in closer so that she was just inches away from touching noses with Linda.

"I want to make Henry suffer for the mess he caused."

"Henry didn't do anything." Linda said defensively.

"Didn't he?" Alice questioned, backing off a bit. "Shows how much you know."

Fearful that she would electrocute her again, Linda tensed up as she watched the Twisted Angel's every movement. However, she didn't reach for the switch. Instead she reached down to something behind the control panel and pulled out what appeared to be a syringe.

Linda recognized it as it was the same syringe Alice had Henry use to collect the excess ink from the '_swollen_ _ones_' when he did her bidding.

"You have made me curious, Henry's wife." Alice said as she looked at the syringe with a wicked smile. "Ever since you stumbled into my halls, I have wondered how you could be of use to me. You may not be made of ink like the rest of the filth down here, but maybe your blood will work just as well."

Linda began to hopelessly struggle again as the large needle was raised over her chest.

Before the needle could pierce through her ink stained blouse and skin, the ink rose up from Linda's body and grabbed on the syringe.

Alice was quick to release the medical instrument as she let out a yelp of surprise.

The ink consumed the syringe, causing it dissolve before shifting towards Linda's binds.

Stunned, Linda watched the binds dissolve and become one with the ink.

She was free.

Alice backed away, now frightened of the woman before her.

"Keep away!" She shrieked. "I don't want that _demon's ink_ touching me!"

Linda felt a newfound rage flow through her as she thought of all the sins the Twisted Angel committed. Ignoring her cries, Linda approached Alice.

"**This is for Boris!**"

* * *

Linda opened her eyes to find herself back in the throne room. Was she just dreaming of being captured by Alice?

It felt so real.

Looking around, she noticed she was alone. This was probably going to be the only time she could scope the room out to find a way out without the Ink Demon policing her. Linda stood up and began her search.

She had no such luck.

Walking through the only corridor that lead into the room, Linda approach two large sealed metal doors. She looked around for a switch or a lever that would open it, but figured it would be on the other side as it was nowhere to be found.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Linda placed her hand on the metal surface.

"Please be safe, Henry..."

She quickly pulled her hand away as ink pooled out from beneath her palm and began to spread out on the doors; it was forming an ink portal. Linda went to approach the ink on the door, but stumbled back and fell as the Ink Demon emerged from the ink, growling in a labored manner as usual as he limped out.

The Ink Demon stared down at her and tilted his head.

Linda braced herself to be grabbed as the Ink Demon reached towards her, closing her eyes tightly. She then felt something drop into her lap and opened her eyes to see what it was.

_**A broken halo.**_

It looked similar to the one that was sticking into Alice's head.

Picking up the halo, Linda looked it over before looking up at the Ink Demon once again. He only stared down at her in return.

It didn't take long for her to know the fate of the Twisted Angel.

A part of Linda was relieved.

"What about Boris?" She found herself asking out loud. "What happened to him."

The Ink Demon reached into his inky body and pulled out a small Boris plush before dropping it into her lap.

Linda somehow knew the answer as she stared at the ink stained plush.

Boris, her and Henry's faithful companion, was gone.

She held the small plush version of the toon wolf close to her chest as she wept.

"_I'm sorry Boris..._"

* * *

_**A/N: OMG, I'm so glad it didn't take me forever to write this chapter like the last one. I don't expect the same luck with the next one though. Hope you enjoyed. **_

_**Part of the reason as to why the chapter begins the way it does is because I wanted to actually have dialog between Alice and Linda. There is an explanation for it, but that won't be revealed until a later date...Maybe.**_


	15. Chapter 15: The Lost Prophet

_**Chapter 15: The Lost Prophet**_

* * *

Linda sat in a fetal position in the leather chair of the makeshift throne, tears dampening her cheeks as she continued to mourn for Boris. The plush of the toon wolf was nestled between her lap and her stomach.

She didn't bother looking up as she heard the Ink Demon approach, at least not until she felt him tugging at her purse. Linda wipe her eyes to see what he was so interested in.

Just as she adjusted herself, the Ink Demon stuck his inky hand into the purse and pulled out the folded piece of paper of the Bendy drawing.

"It's not polite to go through a woman's purse without permission." Linda scolded as she sniffled, but the Ink Demon ignored her as he looked at the paper with curious tilt of his head.

As the Ink Demon began to unfold the paper, Linda started to worry he would rip it and sat up in a more proper position. Fortunately, it seemed the Ink Demon was being gentle as he had the full view of the image. He stared at the drawing and then looked up at one of the Bendy cartoons above them.

Linda could've sworn his grin grew wider.

"Yes, it's you." She confirmed as she wiped away more tears. "I found it on the first floor."

The Ink Demon went back to studying the drawing before looking down at his own inky body, letting out a soft, yet pain-filled, whine. He put his gloved hand to his ink covered forehead and ink began to excessively drip from his body.

Not know what was happening nor what to do, Linda only sat there and watched. She watched as the Ink Demon suddenly grew enraged as he let out a loud roar, and cowered in fear of being torn to shreds. However, the Ink Demon didn't lay one inky claw on her. Linda looked to see him quickly limp into an ink portal.

She was alone again.

* * *

Linda didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like hours.

The Ink Demon still hadn't returned.

She stood up and picked up the Bendy drawing as she noticed he had dropped it. Linda folded it up and carefully tucked it into her claw marked purse. She let out a sigh as that was yet another item added to the list of things to replace once her and Henry got out of the studio.

_If we ever get out of this studio..._

Linda tried to get rid of the negative thoughts as she shook her head. She wasn't going to give up.

She started to pace a bit as she thought how she would leave the throne room; her only options were to either wait for someone to open the doors and let her out, if there was a way out, or use an ink portal. Linda thought about the lucid dream she had being tortured by Alice and how the ink her body freed her and presumably put an end to the Twisted Angel.

She wondered if she could try to manipulate it somehow to free her from the room. It was a crazy thought, but something in her mind coaxed her to try it.

Linda looked down at the Boris plush that had fallen out of her lap and put it in her purse.

_You're coming with me._

As she approached the metal doors, Linda placed her hand on the metal surface and focused on the spot.

Nothing happened at first, but to her surprise, she felt something snake along her arm to her her hand.

_**Ink.**_

The ink slipped underneath her palm and began to spread as it formed the portal. She was stunned to see that it worked, but didn't dare question the possibility of it or where the portal would take her. Linda figured she wouldn't have much time before the Ink Demon would return from his rounds.

Stepping into the familiar well of ink, ink swirled around her as the light up ahead shone brightly, drawing her towards it. She ignored the voices filling her head as she passed through.

Once at the end, she was brought to a stone statue of Bendy that had been placed in specific areas of the studio. Linda looked around to see she was now in a small underground village of some sort.

She walked towards the open center of the village and stare towards a boarded doorway littered with images of black hand prints around it. Candles sat below the images, creating an eerie glow. Above the doorway was a sign:

**NOT MONSTERS**

Linda slowly approached and placed her hand over one of the hand prints as she felt sorry for the tortured souls that still lurked in the studio.

"_Has the Harbinger come to tell me our lord has forsaken me?_"

Linda jumped a bit as she looked to see the Prophet peering out at her from the boards.

_Sammy._

"There's no need to deliver his message." He continued on full of spite. "_**He had made it quite clear when he abandoned me!"**_

Sammy began to chop down the boards with an axe and began to approach Linda.

Knowing he was intending on harming her, Linda began to back away. Her heart pounded in her chest as he appeared more threatening than when they first met, and even then he was dangerous.

"However, I could use your head to deliver him a message!" Sammy yelled as he raised his axe in the air, threatening to chop her into bits.

Linda let out a shriek as she moved to avoid the blow, feeling the force of the swing. It barely missed her.

"Sammy, Please! Don't do this!" Linda begged, using his name as she remembered Henry telling her who the Prophet was.

She hoped it would somehow stop him, make something in that ink filled mind click.

But it didn't.

Her plea was left unheard.

"The Ink Demon has betrayed us!" Sammy hissed as he continued to swing at her. "His Harbinger failed us!"

Linda couldn't back away any further as she nearly fell back into a river of ink, now realizing she was on a dock. Sammy's axe swung down from above her head and ink rose from her body to catch the weapon's blade.

Just like in her dream with Alice.

Was it a dream?

Or was it a different ti-

Sammy tried to fight with the ink to get it to release his axe, but the ink continued to consume it until it was nothing, causing the mad former Prophet to fall back.

The ink snaked its way towards Sammy as he tried to get away.

"No! No! Stay away!" He cried out.

The ink snatched on to Sammy's legs and continued upwards.

"No! Forgive me! **NOOO!**"

Linda forced her eyes shut as she heard the sickening squelching sounds. Feeling the ink return to rest on her, she opened her eyes to find ink splattered on the ground and a broken Bendy mask in Sammy's place.

Her legs shook underneath her as a horde of '_searchers_' and '_lost ones_' rose from black puddles.

They all had their sight set on her.

"Don't come any closer!" Linda warned. "I don't want to hurt you!"

* * *

_**A/N: Whoo, this chapter was kind of fun to write. Kinda. **_

_**Hope you enjoyed. **_


	16. Chapter 16: Damage

_**Chapter 16: Damage**_

* * *

The village had been destroyed and ink was splattered everywhere. Linda was the only one remaining on the dock, shaking like a leaf.

The ink had slaughtered every last '_lost_ _one_' and '_searcher_' in the now desolate town. Linda may of had her eyes closed during the process, but she had heard it all; the constant screaming and cries for mercy as the ink engulfed every last inky being in the village.

"I'm sorry..." She whimpered.

Linda looked out towards the river as she heard a motor echoing in the distance. She soon spotted a boat with a small crew slowly propel out of a large tunnel.

Henry was at the controls, pushing forward a lever that allowed the boat to move while '_Charley_' and '_Edgar_' were at the back, huffing and puffing in exhaustion. All three of them looked to be in rough shape, but Linda's heart swelled at the sight of their faces.

"Henry!" She called out, catching her husband's attention.

His eyes widened as he saw her on the dock and stopped the boat before hopping out, quickly making his way over to her.

"Linda! Thank god you're alive!"

Before he could get any closer, the ink from Linda's body spread out before them and formed an inky wall between the couple.

"Watch out!" Linda warned, not knowing how the ink was going to react next. "I-I don't have control over it!"

She was relieved to see the ink relax a bit as Henry backed away, but it still kept him at bay.

'_Charley_' and '_Edgar_' hobbled up next to Henry, wary of the ink as they garbled on in what sounded like confusion.

"Careful, you two." Henry said looking down at them before looking out at what was left of the town and freezing in place.

"Oh my god...Linda, what happened?"

"It was the ink." Linda replied in a sorrowful tone. "I-it just...destroyed _everything and everyone_ after Sammy attacked me!"

She began shaking again.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"You won't. Not on purpose." Henry assured, trying to calm her. "The ink might, but like you said, you have no control over it."

"But why is this happening?" Linda asked, trying to make sense of it all. "The ink wasn't alive before."

Henry sighed.

"I don't know. It might've been something the '_Ink Demon_' did. He seems to be attached to you."

Linda frowned a bit.

"You seem to be taking this well."

Henry let out a soft chuckle, but there was sadness and exhaustion in his eyes.

"After you spend several hundred time loops in this place, things like this don't surprise you much anymore. I'm just glad you're alive."

Linda wanted to embrace her husband and to be held in his arms. She wanted that more than anything, but didn't want to risk the protective ink on her to harm him. She didn't even want to go near '_Charley_' or '_Edgar_' for the same reason.

"I'm glad to see you're all alive as well. I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you went after Boris."

Henry frowned.

"Linda, Boris is-"

"I know..." She interrupted.

"_What happened here?_"

Linda and Henry looked over to see a toonish woman with a halo and horns on her head.

_**Alice Angel.**_

Linda would've been wary of her, but she realized she wasn't the same Twisted Angel she had become familiar with. This Alice was different: Her face was whole, she had both eyes, and her halo wasn't broken and sticking into her head.

A rather stern looking Boris followed the new Alice out into the open to survey the area. He had a mechanical arm and was wielding an axe.

Knowing better, Linda knew that this Boris was not the same Boris her and Henry had befriended. She was going to miss the friendly toon wolf.

Alice looked at the human couple as her eyes widened. She rushed over towards them.

"Henry! Look out!"

"Alice, wait!" Henry cried out as Alice withdrew what looked to be a blade.

Linda squealed as the blade slashed through the shield of ink, close enough to nearly cut her.

"Back to the ink with you, Harbinger!" The Angel growled.

"Stop! She's my wife!" Henry yelled.

Alice whipped her head around to look at him. Linda could see the confused expression on her face as she looked at her.

"_**Wife?"**_

The ink reformed its wall, making itself taller to the point it towered over Alice and threatened to splash down on her. Linda could hear the garbled nonsensical wailing of '_Charley_' and '_Edgar_' before she saw a head of an axe at the corner of her eye. She turned to see newer Boris and watched in horror as he swung. Henry bolted and went the toon wolf to the ground.

"_**Tom! No!**_"

Pain spread through Linda's shoulder and arm as she was cut by the axe and let out a loud cry.

Everything seemed to have stopped as the cavern began to quake.

Linda stumbled as she held her should and fell into the inky river. Ink entered her eyes, nose, and mouth as she sunk deeper in the dark substance. She thought she hit the bottom until she felt something large underneath her push her upwards out of the ink, and was dropped on to the dock.

Coughing up foul tasting ink, Linda could feel something large hunched over her. Something else had emerged from the ink with her. She wanted to wipe the ink out of her eyes, but searing pain shot through her with each twitch of a muscle. All she could hear was the monstrous growls above her as ink dripped on to her back in pools.

Was it the Ink Demon?

It seemed much too big to be him, yet the presence was familiar.

A loud roar ripped through the creature's throat and Linda could feel the vibrations from its large chest. She soon felt her protector leave her as it charged off, making the wooden boards of the dock shake violently beneath her.

"Tom!" She heard Alice cry out along with heavy crashing sounds like something was being thrown around and causing more destruction to the remains of the village.

Linda flinched and pain jolted through her as she felt someone wrap their arms around her tightly.

_Henry._

"Linda! Ohmygod Linda! I'm so sorry!"

Panic and anguish was in his voice.

"You're going to be okay, Linda! I promise!"

"He-Henry!...It hurts! It hurts so much!" Linda cried as she coughed up more ink and felt more of it seeping from her.

"Oh god, no! Nononono! Stay awake Linda!" Henry begged. "Please! You have to stay awake! The ink will claim you if you don't!"

A deafening roar filled the cavern as Linda could hear the beast charge towards them. She felt herself lose consciousness.

* * *

_It's comfortable here._

_I don't want to leave._

A bright light shone down at the end of the tunnel, ink swirling around Linda as she laid submerged in it.

_Just...five more minutes. I'm tired._

The voices emitting from the ink wailed loudly in her ears.

_**I just want to go home!**_

_**How could he have done this to us!**_

_**He's hungry, always hungry!**_

_**Liar**_

"Stop it." Linda groaned as the voices rambled on and she sat up, not noticing the ink crawling up her. "**Just stop it!**"

_**"Ma?"**_

Linda looked up and saw a toon wolf in suspenders standing before her.

_**"Ma, what are you doing here? Pa needs you!"**_

"Boris..." She whimpered as tears filled her eyes.

_**"Pa needs you, Ma!"**_ He repeated. _**"He needs you to be set free!"**_

Linda allowed Boris to pull her up from the ink.

"Wh-what about you? I don't want to leave you alone here." She replied.

Boris gave her a smile and begun to guide her down the well.

_**"Don't worry about me, I'll be free once Pa finishes what needs to be done. But for him to be free, you have to help put everything to rest."**_

"I don't know if I can..." Linda said, full of doubt. "I don't know if we'll ever get out of here."

_**"You won't know until you try."**_ Boris replied. _**"And at first you don't succeed, try again. This place is riddled with time loops."**_

As they reached the end, Linda hugged the toon wolf.

"I'm sorry for letting you get taken by that _awful angel_." Linda apologized as she began to sob.

Boris gently patted her back as he returned the embrace.

_**"Oh Ma, it wasn't your fault. None of it was; it's just how my story was written."**_

Before she could question what he meant, the toon wolf pushed her through the well's exit.

_**"Say 'hi' to Pa for me! And tell him I don't hold him responsible for what happened!"**_

* * *

_**A/N: That took an odd turn, but someone had to coax Linda out. Why not a more familiar face?**_

_**Also Tom wasn't quite paying attention when Henry mentioned that Linda was his wife. All he could think of was how the "Harbinger's" ink was going to harm Alice(Allison). He seems like the type that would make rash decisions if not given enough time to think things through.**_


	17. Chapter 17: Back at The Beginning

_**Chapter 17: Back at The Beginning**_

* * *

Linda opened her eyes to find herself on the first floor of the studio: it was as if she just got there. She was confused as she looked down at herself to see she was still stained with ink, and touched her shoulder where her wound was; it stopped hurting, but Linda was sure there was a scar. She remembered the scars she had seen on Henry and wondered if he remembered how he got them whenever he was sent back to the beginning.

_Sent back to the beginning..._

_Oh! We're stuck in a time loop!_

_But...Why was I sent back to the beginning?_

_Did I reach the end?_

As Linda pondered it over, she noticed she stepped on a folded paper. She picked it up as she recognized it to be the Bendy drawing she had in her purse. Unfolding it to look at the image of the toon devil, she was taken by surprise as the little Bendy was rubbing his head as if it were sore. He then shook his head and looked up at Linda, grinning as he recognized her.

Linda couldn't help but smile back.

"It's nice to see you moving again." She said to the drawing. "But it seems like I was sent back to where I started. Do you have an idea how we can break free from the time loop?"

Bendy frowned and shrugged in response.

How was he supposed to know? He was just a drawing.

A living drawing.

"There must be a way." Linda sighed as she started to make her way through the first floor.

She soon came across a boarded doorway blocking her way to what seemed to be an auditorium of sorts. Linda could just see enough through the gaps between the boards to see a large machine being held up by chains.

"What is _that?_"

Linda went to approach, but she could see Bendy shivering from the corner of her eye as he cowered. Before she could ask the toon devil what was wrong, a large shadow fell over her. Linda looked up to see the Ink Demon as he tore at the boards to break out.

As soon as one board was broken, Linda began to run until she tripped over a pipe of flowing ink that ran across the floor, despite having stepped over it before. She winced a bit, but quickly scrambled to her feet as she continued to run.

Ink poured out all out Linda, flooding the first floor of the studio in knee deep ink. She skidded to a halt and nearly fell over as the Ink Demon suddenly rose out of the ink before her.

"What do you want from me?!" She yelled over the pouring ink as the Ink Demon limped towards her.

Bendy was trembling so much, ink was dripping from his body.

Linda had allowed her guard to lower as she looked at the scared little devil, giving the Ink Demon a chance to grab her.

For once, Linda tried to fight back as she attempted to break free from his inky grip. The Ink Demon didn't react much as he was able to drag her with ease through the ink portal.

* * *

_This place again._

The Ink Demon had taken her back to the throne room.

_Might as well consider this place home._

Tears began to well up in her eyes. Linda was exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally.

"I just want to go home with Henry..."

Bendy stared up at her from her lap as she began to sob. He looked like he wanted to try and bring her some comfort, but didn't know how as he couldn't quite touch her.

Linda looked down at her purse and pulled out her wedding photo, relieved it wasn't ruined by ink but was still heartbroken over the possibility her and Henry would never escape.

_How could Joey have done something this insane? _

_Why would he want to trap people in the studio with an enraged inky demon? _

_This is all his fault!_

She was taken out of her thoughts as the Ink Demon had snatched the wedding photo away from her, staring intensely through the curtain of ink dripping down his face at Henry's side of the photo. His growling grew deeper and more guttural as he teeth grew sharp and claws elongated.

It was clear to see he had an issue with Henry, but Linda was never given a straight answer as to why.

"Why are you so angry at Henry?" She found herself asking.

The Ink Demon turned his head towards her as ink trailed down his body in thick streams. He dropped the photo as he hunched over and lumbered off, leaving through an ink portal that formed on the wall.

Linda stood up from the throne and picked up her wedding photo before going back to sit down. This would've been a perfect opportunity for her to escape again, but she decided against it this time.

Not with what happened last time.

Linda subconsciously touched her shoulder as the horrible memory replayed in her mind repetitively like the reels of the Bendy cartoons playing above her.

She hoped things would play out differently this time and for the better.

But in Joey Drew Studios, anything could happen.

* * *

**_A/N: Oof, this is a rather short chapter. Anyways, my older sister, whoisprettymuchmybetareaderbyforce, suggested that I had Linda go through a time loop that sends her back to the beginning since she pretty much died in the last chapter. Heh-heh...Well, She at least gets to keep her memories. I'll try to go through everything as quickly as possible to the point she last was before this chapter as well as have her go through different experiences._**


	18. Chapter 18: Showing Mercy

_**Chapter 18: Showing Mercy**_

* * *

Waiting for the Ink Demon to return, Linda wondered how much time had passed outside of the studio. It had been three days since Henry went missing when she arrived at the studio, and time seemed to work differently due to the time loops. Thinking too much on the matter would cause one's brain to hurt as nothing made sense, other than the explanation of dark forces being involved as Henry had implied before. It explained everything from the messed up time to the inky monsters lurking in the studio.

Movement from the Bendy drawing was enough to keep her from stewing over her thoughts as she watched the little toon devil. Bendy was pacing back and forth, staring down at his feet with a frown like he was waiting anxiously for something. He soon stopped and perked up at the sound of sloshing ink. Linda also perked up to see the Ink Demon step out from an ink portal.

The Ink Demon froze for a second as he stared at Linda; she wondered if he was taken aback by the fact she was still where he had left her.

She hoped she didn't make a mistake in staying.

Soft growls emitted from the Ink Demon as he approached with his standard limp, making Linda stare at his badly formed leg for a bit out of pity. He brought her attention to a can of bacon soup as he held it out to her.

"Still willing to feed me, are you?" Linda asked, accepting the can from him with some caution. "Are you planning on fattening me up for dinner?"

She was joking, but the thought of being a potential meal frightened her. The Ink Demon only stared at her while she opened the can and began to drink the soup.

Bendy was looking nervously between Linda and the demon from his page, not seeming to trust his monstrous counterpart's intentions. Linda gently rubbed the drawing's head with the tip of her finger, smiling a bit as he reacted to the gesture. She looked back at the Ink Demon to notice he was staring at the on-model drawing of himself.

_Was he jealous?_

* * *

Having the Bendy drawing tucked away in her purse, Linda slowly walked through a section of the studio she had not been in as the Ink Demon followed close behind. It seemed she had earned some of his trust, but not enough to keep his eyes off of her.

Admittedly, despite being around the Ink Demon so often and seeing him as one big child, Linda was unnerved. She couldn't see his movements behind her and his constant ragged breathing and growling wasn't helping either.

She was more closer to death than ever.

But if she were to die, would the time loop send her back to the beginning? Were there a limited amount of times she would resurrect?

Honestly, she didn't want to find out.

It was then Linda wondered at what point Henry was at during his journey through the studio.

Did he remember she was here?

Were '_Charley_' and '_Edgar_' still with him or had the time loop reset everything?

To her, it seemed seemed more logical than any other explanation and gave her an odd sense of comfort as it would possibly mean Boris was alive. She then remembered him telling her in the tunnel of ink how his untimely death was just how his story was written.

What did he mean by that?

Were they all part of one big story?

Was everything Linda was doing right now being written down to be told later?

Linda found herself starting to go through an existential crisis as she started to think too hard on it. She had to stop herself and tried to clear her head.

The Ink Demon grunted from behind her, reminding Linda he was still there. All the noise he had made had become nothing more than background noise as she had spiraled downward in her thoughts.

"Sorry." Linda apologized. "I have a lot on my mind at the moment."

She felt him give her a nudge, wanting her to keep moving.

"I'm going, I'm going. _**Mr. Bossy**_."

Continuing down the hall, Linda spotted a familiar figure. It was Alice, but not the one who turned Boris into a monster. She was the other one.

The Alice who tried to attack her in the cavern before Linda was sent back to when she arrived at the studio.

Alice didn't seem to notice them as her back was turned towards them. She was looking through a glass with a lit frame, studying the walls as if something of interest was to seen through it. All Linda could see were blank spaces.

The Ink Demon let out a shriek, alerting Alice as she whipped around to face them. He knocked Linda down as he charged past her towards the angel.

Linda stumbled on to her feet, wanting to stop him. She ran up to the Ink Demon and grabbed him by his inky arm.

"No! Stop!"

The Ink Demon growled in frustration as he looked back at her.

Alice appeared to be stunned.

"Let her go." Linda said, trying to sound calm as she stared the angry demon down.

She soon released him as she saw Alice was nowhere in sight. Linda hoped the gesture was enough to show the angel she was not her enemy if they were to meet again whenever she was allowed to leave the Ink Demon's sight.

If that time would even come.

She would probably have to sneak away again.

The Ink Demon looked back in the direction Alice was and let out a huff before moving aside to let Linda step ahead of him.

As she did so, she could feel his rage seething from his body, making her more nervous to have him in her blind spot. So far, he didn't try attacking her, but that could change at any moment.

They passed by a miracle station, and Linda was sure it was occupied. She glanced at it, catching a glimpse of yellowish eyes peering out from the lookout and offered an apologetic smile.

Fortunately, the Ink Demon didn't seem to notice the look as Linda had no intention of blowing Alice's cover. He didn't even seem to pay any mind to the miracle station when Linda looked back at him to see he was staring straight ahead. It did make her question why he didn't check the stations, but she was thankful he didn't.

* * *

_**A/N: We all go through an existential crisis every now. Linda certainly did. She wouldn't be the only one in the studio to go through such a time. **_

_**I wanted to throw in another interaction with Alice(Allison) for Linda. Maybe she appreciated Linda for saving her, or perhaps Linda has made her more suspicious of her.**_


	19. Chapter 19: Reunited

_**Chapter 19: Reunited**_

* * *

The feeling of being lost was nagging Linda as they wandered further into the depths of the studio, she wasn't sure where they were anymore. Everything looked the same to her, making it seem like they were going in circles. However, the Ink Demon never corrected her nor tried to change course as he continued to follow close behind, so she kept going.

She perked up as she started to hear music playing gently down the hall. Linda looked back at the Ink Demon to see him lift his head a bit higher as if to listen. He then let out a huff and coaxed Linda to press on with a nudge from his arm.

They soon entered a lobby to what appeared to be the music department. The sign and decor on the walls was a dead give away. There were also speakers and record players laying about, but no music was coming from them. However, the music was louder than before and it sounded like a banjo was being played.

A '_searcher_' formed out of the ink stained floor, catching the Ink Demon's attention. Linda quickly followed the sound of the banjo so she wouldn't have to watch the poor soul be splattered.

She soon approached the office of Samuel Lawrence as the sign had read above the window; Linda could see Sammy sitting at a desk, strumming away on the banjo. He was too focused on his playing to even notice her. Linda found herself entranced as she didn't realize a banjo could be played in such a playful yet sad way. It seemed maddening, which suited the crazed Prophet.

The trance was soon broken as Linda noticed Sammy was now staring towards her, his Bendy mask grinning at her with missing teeth. Sammy stopped on a sour note and placed the banjo down with care, almost acting like Linda was a wild, timid animal as he moved slowly towards the door. The ink on Linda's body rose defensively like it had before as Sammy exited the office, making him stumble back in fear.

"W-wait!" Sammy yelped. "Forgive me for frightening you, Harbinger!"

He didn't seem to have forgotten the title he had bestowed upon Linda when they first met and he found out she had been with the Ink Demon.

Was it that obvious now?

Or did he remember what had happened in previous time loops?

It was rather unclear, but unlike their last encounter, he didn't seem to have any intention in harming Linda.

"I am just in awe of you." Sammy continued. "I never would've thought my music would draw you to me."

"As long as you keep your distance, the ink won't hurt you." Linda replied, trying to stay calm as the Prophet made her nervous. She had figured the ink reacted to her emotions in some way, but that didn't explain why it reacted the way it did to Henry in the last loop in the cavern.

Perhaps it was something the Ink Demon did.

"I would be a fool to touch My Lord's Harbinger." Sammy said, before perking up with sudden realization. "If you're here, then-"

The mad Prophet was interrupted as the Ink Demon rose up from the ink surrounding Linda, now standing before her and Sammy.

Sammy fell to his knees and lowered his head as the Ink Demon growled in anger.

"My Lord, please have mercy on me!" He begged. "I meant no harm! I have a sacrifice for you of it pleases you!"

"A sacrifice?" Linda asked. "Who are you planning to sacrifice?"

Sammy hesitantly lifted his head as if he were surprised by the question and watched as she had moved around the Ink Demon so that she was in front of him. Sammy crawled back a bit.

"I-I don't know his name. But he does have a familiar face." He answered. "He's like you, but he is no Great Harbinger of My Lord."

_Henry._

"Please, take me to him." Linda said.

The Ink Demon growled loudly from behind her, causing her to turn around to face him.

"I have to see him!"

The Ink Demon huffed and turned his head to look away. It appeared he was begrudgingly allowing it.

Linda looked back at Sammy, who quickly stood up at attention.

"R-right this way"

He awkwardly moved around them, the Ink Demon letting out a soft hiss as he passed by, and lead them down the hall.

* * *

"Henry!"

Linda ran up to her husband as soon as her eyes landed on him once the shutter door opened. She tried to shake him awake, but he was out cold. He was tied by his hands to a chair, below him was a strange symbol that made Linda's blood run cold.

"Henry, please wake up!"

_Sheep, sheep, sheep._

_It's time for sleep._

_Rest your head._

_It's time for bed._

_In the morning, you may wake._

_Or in the morning, you'll be dead..._

Linda looked over at the speakers attached to a wooden archway as she heard Sammy's voice emitting from them.

"My Lord! Claim this tender sheep I have prepared for you! Set me free from my inky prison!" He cried out.

Linda looked around as she realized the Ink Demon wasn't with her. She then froze as she heard Sammy's cries.

"No, My Lord! Stay back! I am your Prophet! I am your-"

His cries were cut short as he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Linda's gaze then landed on ink pooling out from underneath a closed door to the side of the room.

Linda knew they were in trouble as the Ink Demon was full of bloodlust. At least Henry was. She desparately tried to wake him up, shaking him harder this time.

"You need to wake up, Henry!"

Relief began to wash over her as Henry's eyes began to flutter open. At first his eyes seemed lifeless, but life sparked back in them as they locked on hers.

"Li-Linda?" He croaked, his voice sounding groggy.

"Yes, yes my darling, it's me." Linda replied as she gave him a kiss and began to untie his binds. "We need to get you out of here. The Ink Demon's coming!"

Henry went to stand up, but nearly collapsed as he grimaced and yelped in pain. Linda noticed he looked more battered than before, and now he was suffering with a limp as he hobbled over to an axe.

'_Searchers_' groaned as they rose from the ink puddles on the floor and began to swarm the human couple. Henry swung the axe at them, splattering them. As soon as they were gone, Linda took hold of his hand and started running down their only escape route.

She looked back at Henry tried to keep up, but his bad leg was slowing them down. Oddly enough, it reminded her of the Ink Demon's bad leg.

Just as they were about to enter a section of the corridor flooded with ink, the Ink Demon sprang up and roared.

Linda squealed and quickly turned to head another direction. They ran through what felt like a maze of halls as the Ink Demon gave chase. Henry was panting heavily as he limped as fast as he could, and Linda shoved him past her into a room before them before slamming the door shut behind her as she followed him in.

She quickly threw the board lock down to keep the door from opening, though she doubted it would do much to stop a rampaging demon. However, she was surprised as the Ink Demon only pounded against the door and growled.

The Ink Demon soon gave up and Linda listened to as she heard him stomp away. She looked down at Henry as he was lying on the floor from her shoving him and went to help him up.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." Henry assured as he sat up. "I've been through worse."

Linda went to grab the axe he had to have him use as some sort of cane, but it was nowhere to be found. They must've lost it when they were being chased.

"I'll see if I can find something to help with that limp." She said as she stood up.

Henry didn't object as she began to walk away.

Entering the next room, Linda flinched as a can of bacon soup suddenly rolled past her.

"Hello? Anyone there?" She asked as she hesitantly approached before stopping as a familiar toon wolf poked his head around the corner.

"Boris!"

* * *

_**A/N: Boris is back! But for how long? Will he continue to go through the same fate like he has in previous loops, or will things be different?**_

_**Even I don't know.**_

_**Also, Bendy seems a bit bipolar, doesn't he?**_


	20. Chapter 20: The Nightmare

_**Chapter 20: The Nightmare**_

* * *

Boris had assisted Linda carrying Henry to the safe house. Henry tried to get out of it by telling them he could walk, but he couldn't take three steps without nearly collapsing. Concerned, Linda insisted he let her and Boris help him, ending the conversation without argument. Fortunately, it didn't take them too long to reach sanctuary.

In the safety of the safe house, Linda had Henry rest in the cot he would sleep in from previous time loops while she started to cook some bacon soup for all three of them.

Boris sat in his usual spot at the table as he eagerly waited for the soup to be ready.

"Boris, Honey, why don't you go wash your hands while you wait?" Linda asked as she looked at the toon wolf.

Boris looked at his gloved hands at first in confusion before showing them to her. Linda couldn't help but chuckle as she shook her head.

"Don't give me that look, young man. You should always wash your hands before you eat. I'll even have Henry wash his."

Seeming to accept her response, Boris stood up and made his way to the ink flooded bathroom where they actually had accessible water.

Linda gave the soup one final stir before heading to the room Henry was in. He had passed out when they placed him on the cot and was still sleeping as Linda approached. She hated to wake him up from much needed rest, but he still needed something on his stomach.

"Henry, wake up dear." She said softly as she reached out to gently shake him.

However, she quickly pulled her hand away as the ink on her arm reached out towards Henry.

"There will be none of that." Linda said sternly, looking down at her ink covered arm as the ink settled into place.

"You say something?..." Henry groaned as he began to stir.

He looked slightly better than before, but he still seemed out of it.

"Dinner's ready." Linda replied with a gentle smile. "Can you stand on your own now?"

She watched her husband attempt to stand before stumbling over in pain. Linda was quick to catch him and hold him up; it was then she realized how thin and light he felt.

"Something's wrong." Henry winced. "I don't know if its past injuries catching up to me or if it was from the fall from the first floor."

"Just take it easy." Linda replied as she helped him walk to the bathroom. "After dinner, I want you going straight back to bed."

Henry didn't argue as she stayed by his side while he washed his hands. Once he was finished, she helped him over to the table.

Boris was back in his spot, staring at Linda as he waited for soup to be served. She sat Henry down before approaching the stove and began to serve three bowls of bacon soup. Linda served Henry and Boris before pouring herself a bowl and joining them at the table.

After Henry went to bed, Linda had went into the bathroom to clean their bowls and spoons. It didn't take long to clean all of them of course, leaving Linda with nothing to keep her mind busy.

She was worried about Henry's condition, even if he had been through worse. She hated to imagine how bad those times were.

Linda sighed and gently kicked up ink from the flooded floor before walking out into the main room of the safe house. She looked to her right to see Boris sitting in a chair, staring intently at something that was out of view. Approaching the toon wolf, Linda saw what he was staring at.

Scraps of torn images were made into a bizarre collage of a figure made up of various parts of Bendy, Alice, and Boris form what she could tell upon careful inspection. Linda gently gently touched Boris' shoulder, gaining his attention.

"What is this?" She asked him. "Did you make this?"

Her only response from the toon wolf was a nod. Not that she was expecting him to actually talk to her. He only did that once, and that was when they were in the tunnel of ink.

Smiling a bit at him, Linda decided it was time for her to turn in.

"Don't stay up too late. You'll need your strength for whatever tomorrow brings."

Boris smiled back and nodded.

* * *

_'Where am I?'_

Checking her surroundings, Linda found herself no longer in the safe house, but in a large metal maze. There were sections in the wall where there were windows with '_lost ones_' on display as ink poured down on to their bodies from above.

She perked up as she saw Henry run by, but found it strange as he didn't appear to notice her.

"Henry? What's going on?" She called out to him, but she still went unnoticed.

Linda then noticed he had a film reel tucked under his arm as he skidded around the corner and kept running. She was going to follow him, until she felt the metal floor beneath her vibrate and heard loud banging sounds approaching her. Turning to see what it was, Linda let out a shriek as she quickly moved to the side to avoid being run over by a large inky beast.

It was bulky and had sharp, jagged yellow teeth, and it moved by using its long arms instead of its legs; which dangled in the air as it moved. The creature had horns like the Bendy, but they were longer and sharper, and it had no face except for it's large gaping maw.

The beast roared past her and turned the same corner Henry went as if it were hunting him down.

Linda recognized that sound. It sounded like the beast that brought her back to the surface of the ink river in the cavern.

It also sounded like the Ink Demon.

_**"Intense, isn't it?"**_

Linda whipped her head around to see a younger Joey Drew standing next to her. He looked exactly like he did when Joey Drew Studios was developed and when he and Henry first became partners.

_**"The Demon and The Hero finally face one another for the final battle." **_He continued on, sounding like he did from his recordings. _**"Though, admittedly, it's more like a dangerous game of Cat and Mouse than a battle."**_

"_Demon? Hero?_ Joey, what on earth is going on?" Linda asked, but he seemed to ignore her as well as he walked down to the other end of the hall.

She hesitantly followed him.

_**"You see Linda, Henry is here for a reason." **_Joey said. _**"He's here to bring peace to the chaotic world. He's here to save the studio and put an end to Bendy's reign of terror! But if Henry hadn't left in the first place...None of this would've happened."**_

Not liking the blame being placed on Henry, Linda was going to respond, but then she saw Henry run by and trip as his legs gave in underneath him. He landed with a loud thud and the reel in his arms tumbled and rolled out in front of her.

_**The End**_

Linda went to help her husband, but Joey grabbed her by the shoulder.

_**"There's nothing you can do to help."**_

The beast soon appeared through a portal of ink on the wall before them, approaching as it snarled and inky saliva dripped from its jaws. It picked Henry up and lifted him up in the air as he struggled and kicked. As soon as Henry made contact with the beast's inky head with a kick, a roar ripped from its throat before it chomped down on his leg.

Linda let out a shriek.

"**HENRY!**"

* * *

"Linda! Linda! You're having a nightmare!"

Linda's eyes snapped opened as she felt Henry shake her. As soon as she saw Henry alive before her, she hugged him tightly as she wept.

"Shh, it's alright." Henry soothed like he had before when she last had a nightmare around him. "Everything is fine."

Linda couldn't find her voice so she just nuzzled into her husband's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Boris had gotten down from his hammock and approached Linda to join in the embrace. She was already starting to feel better, but couldn't get the horrific imagery of the ink beast killing Henry before her eyes out of her head nor could she stop hearing his agonizing screams.

* * *

_**A/N: I wanted to have Joey Drew antagonize Linda in some way, so yeah, this chapter happened. Some times when I write drama, it doesn't seem dramatic or suspenseful enough for me. So, I apologize if it's a bit lackluster in this chapter.**_


	21. Chapter 21: The Chase

_**Chapter 21: The Chase**_

* * *

It had taken a while for Linda to be rid of her nightmare as Henry and Boris did the best they could to cheer her up as they spent time with her at the table.

Boris was strumming on the banjo that had been resting against the wall near his spot at the table; both Linda and Henry had encouraged him to keep playing as he was a bit rusty and seemed to be self-conscious of his playing. Linda smiled as Boris kept playing, showing he took their encouragement to heart.

He wasn't that bad.

Linda found she preferred the toon wolf's music compared to how Sammy had played. Boris' style was a lot more relaxed and playful.

Turning her attention to Henry, she watched as he drew out a scene of all three of them out in an open field, enjoying a day in the sun by having a picnic. Linda thought it was cute how Henry had drawn the both of them in the same cartoon style as he would draw Boris. She then suddenly remembered the Bendy drawing in her purse and decided to pull him out. As she unfolded the drawing, Bendy shook his head after tumbling around a bit. The moment she placed the drawing down on the table, Henry stopped what he was doing.

"He's _moving_." Henry said in awe. "Bendy's alive!"

Bendy grinned as he stared at Henry, giving him an excited wave of his gloved hand.

"Hey there, Bendy." Henry smiled, though it was a sad one.

"He's been keeping me company after I found him on the first floor." Linda explained. "Though he is a lot more lively now than before."

Boris leaned over the table to have a look at the toon devil himself only to seem a bit weary of it as he whimpered.

"It's alright, Boris." Linda assured. "He's not going to hurt any of us."

Boris still seemed to be on edge, but his shoulders relaxed slightly as Bendy waved to him as well. The toon wolf waved back slowly in response.

Henry let out a sigh as he shook his head.

"There's so much I want to say to him. To the Ink Demon roaming around the studio."

Linda placed her hand on top of his as his fingers touched the edge of Bendy's page.

"Why not practice with Bendy? He'll listen."

Henry stared at the Bendy drawing, the small drawn out toon returning his gaze as he tilted his head out of curiosity.

"Bendy, I..." Henry began, trying to find the words as he thought them over carefully. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you behind when I left the studio; for leaving you under Joey's control. You were never meant to be treated as a monster."

Bendy's smile had faded, but he continued to give Henry his full attention.

"After leaving the studio, I still continued to draw you, even if I couldn't make cartoons of you for the public. Joey owned the rights to your cartoons." Henry continued. "I was always anxious to know what kind of direction Joey would take with your cartoons, but I never expected anything like this to happen. I hope-"

The moment was interrupted as the safe house began to shake and ink leaked through the ceiling, soon flooding the floor.

Bendy's ink was melting over his face a bit as he became distressed, Linda quickly picked up the toon drawing to try to comfort him before safely tucking him back in her purse.

Boris scrambled over to the door to the exit and pulled down the lever to open it. Henry grabbed on to Linda's hand and went to follow Boris out into the hall. He still had a limp, but it was slowly starting to get better, allowing him to move slightly faster than before.

Ink continued to leak from the ceiling as they now stood outside of the safe house.

Boris cowered and trembled in fear as inky trails moved along the walls and surrounded them.

"We need to get out of here!" Henry shouted over the shaking and rumbling of the machinery in the walls.

Linda took hold of Boris' hand with her free hand as Henry began to lead the way down the hall.

A loud splashing sound followed by a roar came from behind the trio, forcing them to start running as they knew they were now being hunted down the Ink Demon.

Henry quickly grabbed the flashlight from a desk before they ran through darkened halls, only stopping for a second to catch his breath as a pair of metal doors closed behind them. They were trapped in a small room as the metal doors ahead of them were sealed shut. The break didn't last long as there was a loud bang against the metal doors they came from and ink began to spray into the room. The doors began to dent out towards them as something large repeatively smashed against them to get in.

Boris scurried over to the floor vent and lifted the cover as another loud roar was sounded off. Henry fell to his hands and knees as he immediately started to crawl into the vent.

"You go next, Boris!" Linda insisted as she saw how frightened the toon wolf was.

She didn't want to risk leaving him freezing up and be torn apart as they surely didn't have much time to waste before the doors would be broken down.

Boris didn't waste any time as he quickly crawled into the vent after Henry.

The doors were smashed open as soon as Linda had crawled in after them, not daring to stop and look back.

The vent shook violently around them as the Ink Demon attempted to reach for them, but did not continue to give chase.

Linda could only imagine the horrible inky beast from her nightmare as they had managed to escape the Ink Demon's wrath.

She wondered what it was exactly that set him off.

* * *

The trio stopped to rest for a bit as they crawled out of the vent. Henry rested against the wall, holding his bad leg as he waited for the pain to subside. Linda and Boris sat on both sides of him, trying to catch their breath and slow their pounding hearts.

"He gets worse with each loop." Henry grimaced as he tried to stand, Boris offering him support as he stood up with him.

"I don't know how much more of this hell I can take..."

"We can't give up, Henry." Linda replied. "We have to find a way out of this place."

Henry was silent as she stood up and hugged him from behind.

"We're in this together."

She tightened her embrace as she felt him begin to shake and started to sob. Linda silently wept with him and Boris whimpered as he wrapped his arms around the human couple.

* * *

_**A/N: First of all, I want to thank all of y'all for the follows and faves. Your support really helps keep this story going. :)**_

_**A special thanks to portgas d ace forever for showing love and support for this story. Your positive reviews really make my day and boost confidence in my writing as I am a bit shy about my story-telling. **_


	22. Chapter 22: Changing Roles

_**Chapter 22: Changing Roles**_

* * *

All was eerily quiet as they traveled through the Twisted Angel's domain, leaving Linda on edge as Alice didn't seem to notice them just yet. Or perhaps she was aware of the trio's arrival but was waiting for the right moment to catch them off guard.

Boris looked around nervously as Henry lead them into the elevator, letting out a soft whine. Linda placed her hand on the toon wolf's shoulder in reassurance as she gently patted it.

"It's okay, Boris. We'll get through this together."

Boris stayed close to Linda as Henry pushed the button to take them down to the ninth level.

"I wish we could avoid Alice all together." He muttered. "I really don't want to deal with her right now."

"None of us do." Linda sighed as the lift's doors closed and began to take them down the shaft. She then had an idea pop into her head.

"Maybe we don't have to."

Henry and Boris looked at her in confusion, but Linda knew their interest was piqued. However, before she could try to explain, a familiar sinister voice spoke over the speakers somewhere above them.

_"Well, well, well. It seems I have some visitors."_

It was the twisted version of Alice.

"I'm impressed you made it this far with the Ink Demon rampaging about. Don't be shy, come into my lair and meet with an angel."

The elevator doors opened as so as they reached level nine. Henry lead Linda and Boris out before turning his attention back to his wife.

"You think there's a way to avoid Alice?"

"Yes, it's risky as I don't know where it would take us, but I can create an ink portal to take us somewhere else." Linda explained.

Henry and Boris looked towards one another, seeing what the other thought about the idea.

"I don't know how or when you got such an ability to do that, but like you said it's a risk." Henry replied. "The Ink Demon could ambush us. Not to mention we're probably making Alice suspicious by making her wait. We may want to hear her out first before making a decision."

Linda nodded in agreement and followed him to the Twisted Angel's sanctuary. Boris continued to stay close to her, not bolting ahead as he did in the previous loop when the metal doors opened. However, he did stop at the dead copy of himself strapped to an operating table like before.

Linda's heart reacted the same as it did then as it ached for the poor toon wolf as he whimpered at the horrific sight before them. She hugged Boris to comfort him, tightening her embrace as the room began to shake.

Henry tried to keep his balance on the bridge of planks as he was already making his way across the ink filled room. As soon as everything became still, he hesitantly continued as he looked around.

"After all this time being trapped in this forsaken building, I have never witnessed the demon so upset." Alice had spoken up over the speakers, sounding frightened and vulnerable. "A horrible end is near for all of us. No one is safe from the Ink Demon's wrath."

"Be careful, Henry." Linda called out as he reached the end.

He looked back at her and smiled slightly.

"Always am."

As Henry disappeared into Alice's chamber, Linda turned her attention back to Boris. Knowing he wanted to leave, she guided the toon wolf back to the elevator.

* * *

"What's taking him so long?" Linda asked out loud as Henry had yet to return. She was beginning to worry.

"Something's _wrong_."

"There has been a change of plans." The Twisted Angel announced, Linda knew right away she was up to no good.

"Where's Henry?!" She called out as she glared up at the lift's ceiling.

"Henry's held up at the moment." Alice teased with a slight chuckle. "I'll need you to go and do the dirty work for him. I suggest you do as you're told quickly and efficiently if you want to see him back alive."

Linda's eyes widened at the threat as Alice cackled.

"Come to my door. I need you to gather some spare parts and I have just the tool you'll need for the job."

Without a choice, Linda walked out of the elevator and went to retrieve a wrench from a large machine at the side of the entrance to Alice's lair. She soon returned to the lift and pressed the button to level K as she remembered all the tasks Henry was sent to do in the previous time loop.

Boris was worried about Henry as he whined when the lift started moving.

"Don't worry, buddy. We'll get Henry back." Linda assured. "There is no way I'm leaving him behind."

As soon as the lift stopped, she stepped out to begin her search for the three gears Alice needed for her machines. Walking up the stairs to the balcony on level K, a _'Charley'_ clone hobbled out from the darkened hall, wielding a wrench and one of the gears. Linda was instantly reminded of the _'Charley'_ she had befriended and frowned as the ink from her body reached out to the twisted toon.

"I'm sorry."

The _'Charley_' writhed as it was consumed by the ink, dropping the gear as the deformed Butcher Gang leader became an ink splatter on the floor. Linda picked up the gear and continued her search for the other two.

A _'searcher'_ formed out of an ink puddle from the ink splattered floor of the '_**Heavenly Toys**_' storage room, but it was taken care of quickly as Linda's ink made quick work out of it. She approached a metal panel on the wall and used the wrench to undo the screws holding the cover in place. Once a gear was reveal to her, Linda took it and searched the rest of the panels until she found the one tucked in a nook between two shelves full of Alice Angel dolls.

"That should be plenty." Alice's voice chimed over the speaker. "Return them to me."

Not wanting to test the Twisted Angel's patience in fear of her hurting Henry, Linda rushed back to the lift and pushed the button to make her way back to level nine.

* * *

Linda had some close calls with the Ink Demon as he would often appear while she continued to perform tedious tasks for Alice, but fortunately she was always near a miracle station before he could notice her in time. With how upset he was lately, Linda wasn't even sure if she would survive an encounter with the Ink Demon like she had before when he would take her to his throne room. She didn't want to risk it for her and Henry's sake.

Taking an axe from the machine by Alice's doors, it was now time for Linda to chop up the Bendy cut-outs back on level K. She remembered how the Ink Demon chased Henry back to the elevator as he screamed at the top of his lungs for someone to open the doors before making a narrow escape.

That was when Linda had first stood up to the Ink Demon, scolding him like a child and making him leave them alone. However, she figured she wouldn't be so lucky this time.

Linda looked at Boris as the lift came to a stop.

"Keep the doors open unless it becomes necessary to close them."

The toon wolf nodded and watched her leave the lift to chop up the cut-out tucked to the side of it. She then climbed over some barrels to get to the stairway.

"I'll be back as soon as possible." She said.

Linda continued to destroy the Bendy cut-outs she came across as she entered the lobby of the '_**Heavenly Toys**_' department. As she chopped up the last cut-out in the room, Alice spoke up from the speakers once again.

"Now that was fun. Oh! I forgot to mention on little detail. He_ hates_ it when I do that. If he wasn't enraged before, he will be now. I would hide if I were you.~"

Not wasting any time, Linda quickly ran over to the miracle station near the entrance of the lobby and hid inside. She made sure to keep quiet as the Ink Demon's essence began to spread out before her, covering the whole room as he walked by. She watched as the Ink Demon snarled at the scattered pieces of the Bendy cut-outs and froze as he turned his head over in her direction.

Did he know she was in the miracle station?

The Ink Demon made a foreign sound she hadn't heard from before. It sounded as though it was a whimper.

As soon as he made his way up the stairs at the other end of the lobby and his essence faded, Linda left her hiding place and headed back for the elevator.

* * *

_**A/N: This chapter was a bit of pain to write as I wasn't sure where to end it.**_

_**Response to GameFan 335's review**__**: Yeah, 30 years of abandonment issues will make it hard for the Ink Demon to forgive Henry right away. Also you're spot on to the Ink Demon being connected to the Bendy drawing. Which I may explain in a future spin-off fic focused on the Ink Demon's perspective during this story's events. **_


	23. Chapter 23: Revenge

_**Chapter 23: Revenge**_

* * *

After picking up the first ink heart out of the five Alice had sent her to gather, Linda watched from the safety of the balcony as the Projectionist trudged thought the ink below, making his rounds. She started her descent down the stairs until her shins were submerged in a sea of ink and made her way over to a box that had a tape recorder laying on top of it. Linda looked to if the Projectionist was nearby before pressing the play button.

A voice of an older gentleman with a what sounded to be a southern accent was heard from the recorder's speakers.

_Now I'm not lookin' for trouble. _

_It's __just the nature of us projectionists_

_to seek out the dark places._

_You see, I've learned the ins and_

_outs of this here studio. I know_

_how to avoid being bothered by_

_the likes of this...company._

_That projectionist, they always_

_say, creeping around, he's just_

_lookin' for trouble. Well trouble or_

_not, I sees everything. They don't_

_even know when I'm watchin'._

_Even when I'm right behind 'em._

Once the recording ended, Linda had a sense someone or something was behind her, filling her with dread. She quickly turned around to find it was just her mind playing tricks on her. The studio took its toll on one's sanity the longer they stayed trapped.

Hearing the sound of heavy foot falls was enough to send Linda cowering against the wall as the Projectionist came back around from the halls he skulked in and out into the open. Linda held her breath as she noticed he stopped and shone his flickering projection light around the area. She figured he somehow heard the tape recording.

The tall ink monster's shoulders slumped in a more relaxed position and continued his rounds. Linda waited a bit before following into the maze, keeping a good distance from him as she looked around for more inky hearts. She wasn't mentally ready for what was going to happen when she happened to come across the second heart, but Linda didn't have much of a choice.

She had to save Henry from whatever fate the Twisted Angel had planned.

As soon as Linda picked up the inky heart from the corpse of a Butcher Gang member, still not used to touching the organs, she heard the Projectionist let out his inhuman screech. It didn't take long at all for his light to find and shine on her as she started running through the ink. Her heart was pounding as she frantically looked for a miracle station to hide in, hoping there was at least one in the hellish maze. Linda felt relief wash over her when she spotted on tucked off to the side and threw the door open to hide inside. However, her relief didn't last long as the Projectionist tore the door off and dragged her out into the open.

Linda had expected the ink on her to react like it had several times before when she was being threatened, but this time it remained dormant.

"L-let go of me!" Linda screamed, kicking the ink monster's speaker as hard as she could.

The speaker crackled from the impact as it became dislodged, forcing the Projectionist to release her as he squealed in pain.

Linda stumbled up to her feet and ran away as fast as she could, running to collect the other hearts as she wanted to get out there as soon as possible. She could still hear the crackling sounds as the Projectionist continued to screech in rage.

She knew he was still in pursuit of her and how foolish it would be to let her guard down now. After collecting the final heart, Linda made a mad dash for the lift.

The Projectionist's light flickered on her from afar as she reached the stairs to the balcony.

As Linda reached the lift, Boris had pressed the button to open the doors. The Projectionist had started coming up the stairs, holding his speaker in place as Linda pressed the button for the ninth level and the elevator started to ascend.

* * *

"I did what you wanted, now give us Henry." Linda demanded after putting the hearts into the bin.

She had Boris standing next to her as she didn't trust leaving him alone in the lift at the moment, fearing Alice would send it crashing down to take the toon wolf away as well.

Alice let out a dramatic sigh, not making Linda feel any better about the situation.

"I would since you have done everything you were told, but there is _one more thing_ I need from you." The Twisted Angel said. "Fortunately, _he's_ standing right next to you."

"You can't have Boris." Linda replied with a glare.

"Then I'm afraid you're not getting your precious Henry back." Alice hissed. "I must admit, he was rather fun to play with while it lasted."

Linda could feel her blood run cold: Alice was going to kill Henry if she hadn't already. Tears of anger burned Linda's eyes before she felt Boris' hand touch her shoulder. She looked at him to see him give her a sad smile.

"Boris, _no_..." Linda said as if reading the toon wolf's thoughts. "I don't want to lose you too."

Boris let out a soft whine and hugged her. Tears spilled down Linda's cheeks as she hugged back. She couldn't choose between her own husband and the toon wolf she had come to know and love, she just couldn't!

But, as of right now, she had no choice.

"Let us in, Alice," Linda said somberly as she found her voice.

"Glad to see you come to your senses." Alice replied, Linda could tell she was smirking.

The metal doors to the Twisted Angel's lair opened, and Linda and Boris stepped in before the doors closed behind them.

Making their way down the hall, Linda froze as she saw Henry strapped down to the operating table instead of the Boris clone that had been there before. It was nowhere to be seen.

Linda's legs nearly buckled underneath her as she rushed over to him.

"Henry! Open your eyes!" She cried, placing her hands on his shoulders to try to shake him awake.

Henry remained unresponsive as his head was drooping to the side, ink dripping from his mouth.

"_**God, no!**_** You can't be dead!**"

Linda sobbed into her husband's chest, hoping for any sign to show her he was still breathing, but there was nothing; not even a subtle rising and lowering of the chest.

Boris whimpered next to Linda before letting out a sharp startled yelp as he was yanked away from her. Linda whipped around to see Alice holding the toon wold roughly by the arm while wielding an ink stained knife in the other.

"_What the __**hell**__ did you do to Henry?!_"

Alice chuckled.

"Like I said before, I had fun with him."

The ink on Linda bubbled and hissed as she felt nothing but rage. She also thought she could hear it growl, but she was too focused on the Twisted Angel before her to confirm it. She almost felt satisfaction as Alice's smile faltered upon seeing the ink rise to life and crawl its way along the floor towards her.

"Get that demon's disgusting ink away from me, you filthy sinner." Alice hissed as she stepped back, but the ink continued to reach for her and began to crawl up her legs.

Alice's face twisted into one of terror, releasing Boris as she tried to free herself from the ink's grip by slicing at it with the knife. But it had little to no effect.

"This is what you get for murdering my husband!" Linda yelled as the ink tore into the Twisted Angel, as if on cue.

Alice's screams faded as she soon became nothing more than a splattered puddle of ink.

Linda's rage soon subsided and she became terrified as she realized what had happened. The ink always acted on its own before as it defended her from just about anything, but it fed off of her rage and sorrow.

Boris was cautious upon approaching her after what he had just witnessed.

"S-stay back, Boris." Linda warned, not wanting the ink to harm him next.

At first the toon wolf obliged, only to approach more confidently in defiance.

Linda waited for some sort of reaction to come from the ink, but it remained intact to her; even as Boris embraced her. Linda began to sob once again as she returned the embrace.

* * *

_**A/N: Well...That happened!**_


	24. Chapter 24: Lost In The Ink

_**Chapter 24: Lost In The Ink**_

* * *

_**"I feel sorry for you Linda, I really do." **_Joey said as he pulled Linda up and on to a make-shift raft when she opened her eyes to find she was no longer with Boris. _**"But you really should've seen that coming a mile away."**_

Linda looked around to see he was rowing them through a sea of ink with no destination in sight. Who knew how long it would take them to reach shore, if there even was a shore to for them to land on. Like in the previous nightmare she had, Joey appeared and sounded like his younger, charming, businessman-like self. She was to snap at him with a response, but her voice was replaced with gurgling as ink spewed from her mouth when she tried to form words.

_**"Don't interrupt me. I'm not finished." **_Joey responded with slight look of disgust as he stared at the clumps of ink at his feet. _**"You see, you really should've known dear Susie wasn't going to keep her word. You were there during one of the drops into hell before she inevitably took good ol' Buddy Boris away. Now Henry's dead, lost in a sea of ink like this one here. But don't you worry your pretty little head over nothing. Henry's the Hero! He'll find his way back into his role with ease."**_

Linda didn't want to hear anymore from Joey as she gurgled in anger. The crooked man didn't seem too bothered as she turned away from him to look out at the ink surrounding them. It was all unnatural from its movements to its thickness; it was more like gooey sludge than ink.

_**"Ah, it seems our time is short. The Demon's aware of my presence here."**_ Joey spoke up as the ink began to leak into the raft in large amounts. _**"Interesting enough, he had always been keen on such details even if he acts as the mindless, bloodthirsty monster everyone in the studio knows and fears. Now he appears to have taken a liking to you. You don't fear the monster, do you? If not, that could be your biggest mistake yet. Next to thinking there's a way to end this story peacefully, of course."**_

The Ink Demon rose from the ink surrounding them and lunged at Joey with a loud roar. Joey didn't even react as he was tackled off the raft and began to drown in the ink as he was dragged under. The raft began to sink and Linda was dragged to the depth's below. It was unnerving yet welcoming with how quiet it was in the ink for once; nothing bothered Linda's mind as she felt at peace.

She didn't want to leave.

The ink was home.

But then she saw _him._

Henry was floating before her, but his eyes were golden as they glowed brightly in the darkness of the ink.

_"Wake up." _He told her in an eerie yet soothing voice. _"Don't let Joey get a hold of you, Linda. You must wake up."_

As soon as Henry touched her chest, Linda's head became flooded with the desperate cries for freedom of those who were lost to the ink.

* * *

Linda shot up from where she laid in a cold sweat before looking up as she realized ink had been leaking from the ceiling, dripping on to her as she slept. Linda wiped her forehead as she tried to remember where she was, looking around the room for Boris. He was nowhere to be found.

However, she soon relaxed as a door opened and the toon wolf had entered the room with cans of bacon soup in his arms. Boris smiled over at Linda as he realized she was now awake.

"Hey, buddy." She greeted. "Do you know how long I was out? I don't even remember falling asleep."

Boris' smile faltered as he gave a hesitant shrug of his shoulders. He then started moving his arms around as if he were trying to tell her something through various gestures, but Linda couldn't even begin to guess what he was trying to say.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand any of that." She apologized.

Boris shook his head in disappointment, but tried again as he moved more slowly this time. He pointed at her before pointing to the ink dripping from the ceiling. He then placed his hand on the wall and stretched out his arms as if to emphasize something spreading out.

"I...I created an ink portal?" Linda guessed as she had mentioned making one before Henry was held hostage and killed by Alice. The memory pained her to think back on it.

Boris nodded enthusiastically as she had guessed correctly before continuing on with his game of charades. He pointed to her again and then gripped on to his head with a look of anger on his face as he swirled one finger at the side of his head; the universal sign of calling someone crazy.

"I went mad?" Linda asked, receiving confirmation from the toon wolf.

He then pointed to the ink and then moved his hands up down along his body and ended with another point of his finger towards her.

It took a bit for her to guess, but Boris seemed patient as he repeated the gestures for Linda.

"So I went crazy and and ink began to cover my body?"

She had guessed right yet again.

"I created an ink portal, went crazy and ink began to spread over my body." Linda repeated, putting it all together. "Then what happened to me?"

Boris slumped his head to the side as he closed his eyes and let his tongue lull out.

Linda found his clue to be slightly humorous.

"I passed out?"

The toon wolf nodded.

"Then you brought me here afterwards, right?" Linda asked.

Boris gave a sheepish smile and shook his head, surprising Linda.

"If you didn't, then who did?"

There was a rhythmic knocking on the door, sounding almost like Morse code as it went on a bit before stopping once Boris opened the door.

A deformed trio of the Butcher Gang entered the room, shocking Linda as she they eagerly approached her but had their '_weapons_' lowered to show they weren't going to harm her.

Linda couldn't believe they were the same ones she had befriended in the previous loop. '_Barley_' was alive and well, '_Edgar_' was still sweet as can be as crawled into Linda's lap and squeaked cheerfully, and '_Charley_' was his tough old self who actually cared for his crew.

"I thought you three would've forgotten me." Linda said as she hugged the three deformed toons.

They each seemed to find comfort in her embrace as the nuzzled into her.

Linda's little family was growing back again. She just wished Henry was with her to be apart of it.

* * *

_**A/N: JOEY FREAKIN' DREW back at it again with his nonsensical jabber. Kind of fun to write to be honest.**_

_**Anyways, thought of ending this chapter on a lighter note with the return of the Butcher Gang. uvu**_

_**Not sure when I'm going to officially bring Henry back, though. Maybe some point in the next chapter, maybe not until later. I just hope I can keep this story interesting the further I go. I don't think the spin-off in the Ink Demon's perspective will be that long though. I'm just waiting for this story to be done before officially writing it. **_

_**To answer GameFan 335's question from their last review on the previous chapter: Probably not as they aren't exactly hers to begin with. It's more of a way for a certain Demon to keep tabs on her and protect her.**_


	25. Chapter 25: Hidden Messages

_**Chapter 25: Hidden Messages**_

* * *

Linda couldn't leave Henry's side as she had nestled beside his body and her heart was torn. Even Boris couldn't do anything to comfort her so he just sat patiently at her side, leaning into the side of her leg every now and then when Linda would let out a sob.

Finally, she wiped her remaining tears to the best of her ability since they continued to fall no matter what she did, and kissed Henry's cheek before stepping away from him. Boris nearly fell over from the sudden action, but seemed hopeful they would finally leave the fallen angel's lair and stood up.

"We need to move on." Linda sniffled. "I can't stand being here any longer, and it's what Henry would've wanted..."

Boris nodded in agreement and followed her over to the hallway.

Placing her hand on the wall and focusing on making the sentient ink on her bend to her will to form an ink portal, Linda offered one last look at Henry. Her heart nearly stopped as his body was no longer on the table, leaving behind a large ink stain.

_He's gone._

As she looked around for any sign of him, Linda felt the ink from the newly formed portal grip on to her and roughly pull her in. Boris charged in after her, but stopped to see they were in the ink well and Linda was unharmed.

Ink flowed around them a bit closer than usual, lapping at their arms and legs as Linda lead Boris towards the light at the other end. The light was more dim, but it continued to shine through the dark ink.

None of these seemed like good signs.

Once they reached the end, Linda heard multiple voices filling her head, causing her to stop as she recognized them to be Henry's.

She couldn't make out what he was saying; each of his sentences would overlap one another and he sounded as if he was talking backwards, which made his voice sound more of a jumbled mess.

Having enough of the madness, Linda quickly left the well of ink only to find the voices were still there. They were louder this time as Henry sounded to be in pain before letting out screams every now and then.

Linda could feel anger and sorrow consume her more and more with each screaming outburst from her late husband. She gripped her head and fell to her knees.

Boris was the last thing she saw when she began to black out.

* * *

When Linda had woke up some time later, she had learned the Butcher Gang had helped Boris bring her to their new safe house. She wasn't sure what went on between the gang and the toon wolf, but she was glad to see there was some form of truce whenever they went out to get more bacon soup as well as other supplies.

After making their makeshift beds, Linda had noticed the Butcher Gang going through her purse. She walked over to them to see they had pulled out her wedding photo. The three gang members looked up at her as she carefully took the photo from '_Edgar's_' hand.

"You should always ask for permission before going through a lady's purse." Linda scolded with a frown, reminding her of when Ink Demon had done the same thing. Were all toons like children? She supposed it made sense as the Bendy cartoons were generally family friendly despite Bendy being a demon. She wondered if the Butcher Gang were going through her purse to try to entertain themselves.

Linda looked at the photo and then back at the three deformed toons with a smile.

"Would you like to hear a story?"

'_Charley_', '_Barley_', '_Edgar_' and Boris sat around Linda as she told them the story how her and Henry first met; fortunately it made her feel better talking about the fond memory and it made her smile to see the toons were interested in hearing it.

Linda and Henry were high school sweethearts, though it did take Henry forever to ask her out. It wasn't until the end of their junior year they started dating. If Linda had to be honest, if she hadn't had asked in for a dance at a Valentine's Day themed dance, they probably wouldn't have gotten married.

Henry was a bit awkward and a loner in high school, but Linda always knew he had liked her. She could tell from the way he would look at her whenever they passed by each other in the hall. Linda liked him too once she became one of the few to get him to open up, he was a sweet and considerate young man. When they started dating, Henry became more confident in himself and around her and even started to show Linda his drawings.

Even back then they were amazing to her; being a mix of various art styles. Each image had a personality to it like it harbored a soul, which made Henry's non-realistic drawings to be more appealing to her and becoming her favorite style of his.

Linda chuckled when she told her small group of toons how she remembered when she found a drawing of her in Henry's sketchbook and how his face turned beet red in embarrassment from her discovery. No matter how many times she tried to assure him she thought it was sweet and how much she loved it, Henry would still blush about it. Even when they were married and Linda had the drawing of her framed and hung it above her side of the bed, Henry tried to offer drawing up another image of her, but she refused and told him that no other drawings of her would compare to that one.

The one that showed and reminded her how Henry saw her through his eyes before they really started getting to know each other. It was innocent and charming.

Linda ended her story as she heard a stomach growl loudly. The three Butcher Gang members looked at Boris with one of annoyance, which made the toon wolf respond with a sheepish grin. He had been doing that a lot lately from what Linda had noticed. She figured Boris was just nervous of the gang as they had been enemies before.

"I'll tell another story once we have dinner." Linda assured as she stood up from the chair she was sitting in to check their closet full of supplies for the cans of bacon soup they had been storing.

There was no soup to be found.

"We're out already?" She asked out loud, causing the Butcher Gang to send another glare towards Boris.

The toon wolf gulped loudly and scooted away from the other three.

"Now you three be nice to Boris." Linda raised her voice and put her hands on her hips as she turned to face the deformed toons. "He had helped us out a lot and deserves some respect."

'_Edgar_' cowered a bit from Linda's voice while '_Barley_' looked over at Boris with a swing of his head. '_Charley_' huffed and made grumbling noises.

"We just need to go on a soup run." Linda continued, sounding more calm. "We at least know where to look for cans."

She headed for the door and the small group of toons stood up to follow her once she opened it and stepped out into the hall.

Some areas were a lot darker than others, which terrified Boris but didn't bother the Butcher Gang much as long as they knew the way back. Linda found this out during one of their previous soup runs and '_Edgar_' got lost after having a close call with the Ink Demon. Miraculously, '_Edgar_' was found by '_Barley_' when Linda had formed a search party to look for the poor spider. He clung to Linda for what felt like hours until she was finally able to comfort him. She then gave '_Edgar_' a flashlight Boris had found in case another situation happened during their excursion.

Linda searched the halls with Boris following close behind before noticing something shining from the corner of her eye. She looked over to see the glass the other Alice had before being scared away by the Ink Demon.

The lights around the inside of the glass' frame were left on as Linda knelt down to pick it up.

She gasped as she caught a glimpse of golden ink on the wall at the end of the corridor ahead of her, and held the glass up to read it.

_**I'M ALIVE**_

_**COME FIND ME**_

Linda lowered the glass to see the message disappear before her eyes. She then made her way down the corridor and searched for more messages, finding one on the floor with an arrow pointing to the right.

_**THIS WAY**_

She eagerly followed the direction the arrow was pointing before stopping to find yet another message.

_**WATCH OUT FOR ALICE AND TOM**_

Linda lowered the glass and flinched as she heard a demanding female voice.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

She looked to see the Alice who owned the glass had turned the corner ahead of her and withdrew a blade she had sheathed at her side. A Boris clone stood behind her with an axe, his features were hard and stiff unlike the friendly Boris.

_Tom._

Linda absentmindedly touched her shoulder where she had been wounded by the wolf's axe.

"Wait...I-I know you." Alice said, lowering her sword just a bit as she stared at Linda.

Before more could be said, the sound of loud garbling filled the hall as the Butcher Gang charged forward to attack. Linda panicked as she watched Alice and Tom ready their weapons once again.

"Stop! Don't hurt them!" Linda pleaded as she went to stand in front of the deformed toons to protect them.

Alice gave Linda a look like she was trying to figure her out.

The Butcher Gang and Boris stayed behind Linda; the Butcher Gang garbling out in anger towards Alice and Tom, while Boris cowered quietly.

* * *

_**A/N: Basically, the beginning of the chapter is what happened to Linda from the previous chapter before meeting up with Joey and eventually reuniting with the Butcher Gang.**_

_**I also thought it would be a good time to bring in Alice (Allison) and Tom to help move the story along.**_

_**Edit: Due to some criticism from portgas d ace forever about the transition to Linda telling the story of her and Henry to the toons, I decided to add a bit more to attempt to make the transition a lot smoother. **_


	26. Chapter 26: Captured

_**Chapter 26: Captured**_

* * *

Alice lead the group through the halls while Tom stayed in the back to keep watch. It was clear that neither of them trusted Linda and her small group, even as she had returned the glass back to Alice. Boris and the Butcher Gang stayed close to Linda as they didn't trust being close to Alice and Tom either.

Hearing something stomping down the hall ahead of them, Alice had them take cover against the wall. Light was soon flickering by them and the crackling sound of a damaged speaker could be heard as the stomping grew louder. Linda and the others pressed themselves against the wall as the Projectionist came into view.

The tall inky creature was still holding his place to keep it from dangling. Linda could see he was leaving behind a trail of large ink blots, making her feel somewhat guilty for dislodging the Projectionist's speaker; she had to do it, he was going to kill her.

Alice waited until the Projectionist was no longer in sight to continue to lead them all through the halls.

"Hopefully he won't come back this way soon." She muttered.

"Where are you taking us?" Linda asked in a hushed voice, not wanting to alert the Projectionist in case he was still an ear shot away.

Despite having a projector for a head, he seemed to have good hearing for the most part.

"To our safe house." The angel replied just as quietly. "We can talk more once we get there."

Linda looked back in time to see Tom give '_Barley_' somewhat of a harsh nudge with the end of his axe's handle to press the deformed toon onward. The poor sailor let out a groan and Linda went to pick him up as she frowned at Tom.

Before she could turn around to continue following Alice, the Projectionist came back around the corner and screeched loudly.

"Run!" Alice yelled as she bolted down the hall with the others running as fast as they could to keep up.

Linda held '_Barley_' close as she tried to keep up, but the extra weight was slowing her down as her arms grew tired.

"Linda, ol' girl, you're getting out of shape." She scolded herself as she tried to pick up the pace.

'_Barley's_' head swung about from behind her, garbling loudly as the Projectionist kept on right on their tail. Linda tightened her grip around him before she tripped over a loose board and fell. She watched as '_Barley_' tumbled out of her arms and quickly crawled over to him, wrapping her arms around the deformed toon sailor as the Projectionist closed in on them. Linda was instantly reminded of when the same situation happened to her and Henry before the Ink Demon arrived and saved them and separated them.

As if on cue, Linda turned her head as she heard a familiar roar coming from behind and saw the Ink Demon lunge at the Projectionist. Instead of staying to watch like before, Linda stood up and ran in the direction the others went.

A series of roars and shrieks echoed down the hall once she had caught up to the group, who didn't go far as they had stopped to watch what had happened.

It wasn't long before they heard the Projectionist let out one final dying screech before the disturbing sound of his head being torn off.

"We need to keep moving!" Alice urged as she started running again.

No one hesitated in following her as they heard a loud growl coming from behind.

* * *

They had somehow escaped the Ink Demon as they had soon reached a dock by a river of ink and Linda looked around to see they were somewhere underground. It reminded her of the cavern as they all crammed on to a boat, similar to the one Henry had used to get to the village of the '_lost ones_', and began to travel up the river.

Linda watched the ink below them as she thought she saw movement in it, but soon dismissed her suspicion as it didn't take long for them to reach another dock. There was another boat secured at the higher level of the dock, making her wonder if that was the one Henry had used.

"We're almost not far from the safe house." Alice announced as she was the first to step out. "This way."

Linda and Boris stayed back a bit to help the Butcher Gang out of the boat before Tom huffed at the them impatiently to get going.

Boris appeared to be nervous as he looked around their surrounds, not recognizing anything.

"It's going to be okay, Honey." Linda assured, even though she wasn't sure what was in store for them. She hoped that Alice and Tom didn't have any ill-intentions.

Once they reached the door of what Linda assumed to be the safe house, Alice opened the door and stepped in side to let everyone in before her. As they shuffled into the small space, Linda's attention immediately landed on the boarded cell. She could see someone was in there, but ot was a bit hard to tell who or what they were between the open spaces of the boards. All she knew was that they appeared to be sleeping.

Tom approached the boarded doorway of the cell and grabbed a hammer from the shelf as he started to pull out the nails from the boards.

"I'm sorry, but all of you are going to be staying in there." Alice said. "At least until we can be sure we can trust you."

There was a soft murmur from the cell that caused Linda to freeze in place.

"_What's going on?..._"

_Henry!_

Boris rushed over towards the cell, beating Linda to the punch as he was excited to hear from Henry again. If he had a tail, it would be wagging so fast he would propel himself into the air.

"Boris! You're alive!" Henry exclaimed with joy, getting choked up with tears.

"_Henry_..." Linda squeaked out as Boris moved to the side so he could see her once she approached.

"Linda! My god, Linda. I'm so sorry!" He apologized.

"I-I thought you were dead!" Linda whimpered as she reached through the space of the boards to hold his hand.

"I know, I'm sorry." Henry went on. "I'm here now."

As soon as Tom got all of the boards down, he motioned for Linda and her group of toons to enter the cell. Linda thought against arguing with Tom as she didn't want to cause any trouble and stepped inside the cell. She approached Henry and hugged him tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder. Boris soon joined them, nuzzling against them as he whimpered in joy.

Henry returned the hug with her and the toon wolf, and he kissed Linda's cheek. Linda looked back as she noticed Henry's gaze look past her at the Butcher Gang; who were getting their weapons taken away as they made a ruckus, except for '_Edgar'_. His arm was his weapon.

Tom went to work nailing the boards back up, giving a glare of warning to anyone who dared to try to get too close.

No one was leaving this cell.

Linda felt anxiety as reality began to set in.

Just how long would it take to gain Alice and Tom's trust? How were they going to get it by being locked up?

"What's going to happen to us now?" Linda asked as she looked back at Henry.

"We're going to be fine." Henry assured.

Alice soon approached the cell.

"How do you two know each other?" She asked.

"He's my husband." Linda replied as she looked at her.

Alice looked between the two before stopping her gaze at Henry.

"The Harbinger's your wife?"

Tom, who was keeping a close eye on them, tapped his axe against his mechanical hand in a threatening manner.

"She is, but she isn't the harbinger." Henry answered. "Linda wouldn't bring harm to anyone on purpose."

The angel seemed skeptical, but her features softened a bit before she turned to walk away.

"You should all get some rest. It's been a long day for everyone."

* * *

_**A/N: The poor Projectionist is forced to go through the same fate like before, unfortunately. **_

_**Also, I edited the previous chapter to try to make the transition smoother after receiving and taking portgas d ace forever's criticism to heart. I hope I did alright. **_

_**I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. **_


	27. Chapter 27: Prisoners

_**Chapter 27: Prisoners**_

* * *

At any time Linda could've created an ink portal for her, Henry, and their small group of toons to escape their cell, but she instantly rejected the idea after she lost her mind to the ink and feared how it would effect the others. Fortunately, Boris didn't seem to be effected, but who was to say they would be lucky the next time around? Linda didn't want to risk putting anyone in danger.

Boris and the Butcher Gang were sitting with her on the cot while Henry was standing at the boarded doorway, trying to convince Alice to release them. He didn't have much luck, which had left him a bit frustrated as he walked away from the doorway with a heavy sigh.

"It will be okay, Henry." Linda reminded him of what he had told her many times before.

"I know..." Henry replied before sitting down on the floor. "It's just this part is always stressful."

Boris stood up and went to join Henry on the floor as he began to draw, causing him to look up at the toon wolf with a small smile.

"Sorry you're stuck in here, buddy." Henry apologized. "But at least you're alive this time."

Boris smiled and gave him a hug.

Linda smiled at the sight but wished they were in a better situation than this. It would be even better if they were no longer trapped in the studio and its damning loops.

She felt '_Edgar_' nuzzle against her arm as he laid down beside her, looking up at her with his mismatched eyes. Linda gently patted the side of the spider's head to avoid his set of teeth at the top. '_Charley_' and '_Barley_' got comfortable against her as well, making noises similar to yawns.

"Looks like you're not getting up soon." Henry teased.

"I guess not." Linda chuckled slightly. "Though it's not like we're going anywhere any time soon."

Her smile soon vanished as she heard Tom tapping his axe against his mechanical hand; he was watching them and it made her nervous. Linda touched her shoulder where she had been struck by the axe in the previous loop, tracing her finger along the scar.

The lights flickered a bit as the ceiling above them rumbled for a few seconds.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Don't know." Alice responded, having stopped what she was writing on the wall to take a moment to listen carefully. "It could just be the pipes."

"Let's hope so." Henry muttered.

* * *

After being denied a meal by Tom, Linda found herself not liking the toon wolf so much. She was giving him the benefit of the doubt before as he had believed her to be a threat when he had attacked her, but now he was being cruel. She hated seeing the look of hurt on Boris' face when Tom had swiped their bowls of soup on to the floor. The Butcher Gang had garbled in anger at the other wolf and went to curl up on the floor in foul moods next to a sad, hungry Boris.

Henry was even frustrated with Tom, but he didn't seem to be surprised.

Linda guessed Tom had this before to Henry, which upset her even more.

As soon as everyone was asleep, Linda stayed up and pulled out the Bendy drawing tucked away in her purse. She needed someone to be awake with her, and wanted the others to get their rest. Admittedly, she was nervous unfolding the drawing as she had remembered Bendy changing to look more like the Ink Demon when the Ink Demon invaded Boris' safe house.

She smiled and was filled with relief to see Bendy was his normal toon self.

Bendy looked up at her and smiled at first, but it disappeared as he began to write with his index finger.

_"I'm sorry for earlier."_

"What happened back at Boris' safe house was not your fault." Linda assured softly, making sure she wouldn't wake up the others. She put the tip of her index finger between Bendy's horns and gently rubbed like she was petting him.

Bendy enjoyed her touch, but he went back to frowning the moment she stopped.

"What exactly happened to you back there?" Linda asked.

She watched the little toon devil look down as he appeared to be trying to think back to the incident; a little thought bubble even appeared above his head and began to replay the events in cartoon form. Linda couldn't help but marvel at the strange sight as she didn't expect the drawing to be able to do such a thing. She looked back at Bendy to see him shrug and shake his head in a sad manner.

_"I can't remember."_ He wrote, the letters soon disappearing.

"It's alright." Linda said. "Hopefully it was a one time deal."

Though that was just wishful thinking. Nothing went the way you wanted it to here.

"Linda?...Who are you talking to?"

Linda turned to see Henry was now awake. Before she could give him an answer, Henry sat up and looked at the drawing of Bendy.

Bendy started to rub his arm and looked away as if he was feeling guilty.

Well, he was feeling guilty.

"May I?" Henry asked as he reached for the paper. Linda gave a silent nod and handed it to him.

Bendy looked as though he were backed to a wall, looking side to side for a way to escape.

"Hello again, Bendy." Henry greeted softly, giving the little devil a small smile. "You feel bad about what happened before, don't you?"

"He feels horrible about it." Linda corrected.

"Well, don't hurt yourself about it." Her husband continued. "You and the Ink Demon are not the monster of this story."

Bendy appeared to be taken aback by Henry's choice of words, concerning Linda as ink began to drip down his face. She then looked at Henry to see tears brimming his eyes.

"We're _all_ prisoners in this sick twisted game."

* * *

_**A/N: Henry's tired and deserves a nap in a more comfortable bed.**_

_**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**_


	28. Chapter 28: Left For Dead

_**Chapter 28: Left For Dead**_

* * *

Fortunately, nothing had really happened after Henry's talk with the drawing of Bendy. Linda had tucked the drawing back into her purse before finally going to sleep.

As what felt like days passed, Alice opened up a bit more towards Henry and Linda. She was still uncertain about Boris and the Butcher Gang (more-so about the latter), but she still offered them a smile every now and then. Once Tom was away on some excursion, Alice had shown Henry the looking glass; allowing him to look through it and observe any hidden messages around them. Alice even let him keep it as she mentioned how she thought she wasn't meant to leave the studio.

"Alice, you have to let us out of here." Henry said after a bit of silence.

"Tom thinks you're dangerous." Alice replied with a frown as she turned away slightly.

"And what do you think?" He asked as he stared at her, the question seemed to have caught her off guard.

Alice thought about Henry's question for a couple seconds."

"I...I think...You're the hope I've been looking for."

When their conversation ended, Henry walked back over to the cot where Linda remained sitting. She could tell he still wasn't happy being denied freedom; neither was she, but they were at least safe for the most part.

"Alice seems to have taken a liking to you." Linda teased, wanting to lighten the mood. "Should I be concerned?"

Henry smirked and shook his head.

"No. She's Tom's." He replied before sitting next to her. "Besides, I like you more. You _are_ my wife."

"I like you more too." Linda chuckled as she kissed his cheek.

Henry then turned his head and kissed her lips, only stopping when he heard the Butcher Gang garble in disgust.

"What? can't I kiss my own wife?" He asked as he looked over at the three deformed toons.

Linda giggled as they garbled some more in response.

"I guess that's a '_no_'."

"These guys think they run the joint, I swear." Henry replied in a joking manner as he shook his head. "What do you think, Boris? Can I kiss my wife?"

Boris perked up from his spot by the corner as his attention was called upon. The toon wolf gave Henry a smile and quickly nodded his head.

Henry smiled back.

"Thanks, buddy."

He went to kiss Linda again, but the sentient ink on Linda rose in defense. Linda quickly stood up and backed away as far as she could from Henry and the others so she wouldn't accidentally harm any of them.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She apologized over and over. "I have no control over this!"

"Linda, it's okay." Henry assured, remaining calm. "I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone."

"What's going on back there?"

Linda and Henry looked over to see Alice poking her head into the cell, now staring at the ink that was rising off of Linda.

"Everything's fine, Alice." Henry replied.

"It doesn't look fine to me." She replied warily. "That ink is dangerous."

"I-I have no control over it." Linda repeated, trying not to panic.

"No one has control of the ink except for the Ink Demon." Alice said. "I'm surprised it isn't trying to claim you."

Linda thought back to the last nightmare she had when she sank into the inky abyss and Henry appeared before her; he had told her to not let Joey get a hold of her.

"I think it did try...but it hasn't gotten a hold of me yet."

"Hopefully it won't." Alice replied. "Otherwise you're stuck here with the rest of us once it turns you into a '_searcher_' or '_lost one_'."

Suddenly the door to the safe house was slammed open, and the ink returned to a dormant state on Linda's body. Tom stood in the doorway, oblivious to what had happened just a bit ago, and stepped inside holding his busted mechanical arm. Alice rushed over to check on him as she closed the door behind him.

"Tom! What happened to you?" She asked as she guided him over to the work table.

Tom gave her a silent stare only Alice could understand.

"You ran into the Ink Demon and tried to fight him, didn't you?" She asked as she began to work on fixing his arm. "That was really stupid, Tom. Now that he knows we're here, it's only a matter of time..."

Linda looked over at Boris and the Butcher Gang, they appeared to be nervous from the Ink Demon being mentioned. She looked at Henry to see how he was fairing; he was still rather calm about the situation. He held up the looking glass, giving it a slight wiggle in his hand.

"This will come in handy."

Linda wondered what he meant at first, but then figured that the hidden messages may help them find a way out. However, she knew it would be unwise to do so now as Tom was still hostile towards them and Alice was just beginning to show some trust.

For now they would all just have to wait.

* * *

Hours had passed since Tom had his arm fixed and now everyone was heading to bed. It took a while for Boris, '_Charley_', '_Barley_', and '_Edgar_' to settle down; they had been on edge since the possibility of the Ink Demon finding the safe house was brought up, but Linda eventually calmed their nerves by telling them more stories of her and Henry's life outside of the studio.

Even Alice stayed up a bit longer to listen to a story or two.

Henry would interject once in a while to correct or explain some details, but he allowed Linda to continue on with her stories.

Soon enough, the toons grew tired and quickly fell asleep. Alice had already gone to the back a while ago. Linda joined Henry on the cot, hesitantly at first, but relaxed as the ink on her remained in place.

"You have always been quite the storyteller." Henry said to her as he laid back. "You would've been great working her, but I'm glad you were a teacher instead. Joey would've driven you crazy."

"I once thought about working with you and Joey when you two started out." Linda admitted as she laid down next to him. "But I don't think Joey would've allowed it and I didn't want to distract you."

She cuddled against Henry and stared at his ink stained shirt.

"If he saw talent in you, he would've put you somewhere." He replied. "Then he would've found ways of keeping us from seeing one another. Heck, he already did during the first two weeks of the company."

"Those were hard times." Linda sighed. "I just had our first child and you were constantly away at work, not coming home until the late hours of the night. I'm glad you quit when you did, Henry. As hard as I know it was for you, I'm glad you didn't stick around for this horrible mess."

Henry kissed her forehead.

"I'm glad too, but I can't help but wonder if things would've been different if I had stayed...If I was around to push Joey in the right direction-"

"I don't know if there was anything you could've done." Linda interrupted. "Joey Drew was an awfully stubborn man with ideas."

"And _only _ideas..." Henry added.

* * *

While they slept, something dripped on to Linda's forehead, waking her up. She wiped it off and checked her hand to see it was ink.

Before she could begin to guess whether it was from a pipe above or a sign the Ink Demon was coming, there was a low rumble and the room began to shake; startling the others awake.

Boris cowered and covered his eyes while the Butcher Gang stumbled around in confusion. '_Charley_' garbled loudly as he hobbled towards the boarded doorway of the cell and began to pound a board with his fist. '_Edgar_' joined in, but neither of them had much luck. '_Barley_' made his way over and swung his head like a wrecking ball; needless to say, his attempt didn't work either and only gave the sailor toon a headache.

"We can't just leave them here. Not with the Ink Demon right outside our door!" Alice tried reasoning to Tom, but the stubborn wolf wasn't having it.

She then looked up towards the ceiling as more ink began to leak in and rushed over to the cell to try to pry off the boards with her hands. After a few more hopeless attempts, Tom placed his mechanical hand on Alice's shoulder and shook his head once she looked back at him. Alice then looked at Henry and Linda with a look of defeat.

"I'm sorry..."

The couple watched the angel and her companion run out of the safe house, leaving them for dead.

* * *

_**A/N: Not going to lie, I laughed at poor 'Barley's' attempt to break free as I wrote it. I'm such a mean writer.  
**_

_**Response to Zephyr's review: A sad Henry is a bad time. But it brings me joy to know you're enjoying the story so far. I hope you and my other followers/reviewers find this chapter just as enjoyable. **_


	29. Chapter 29: Into The Ink Below

_**Chapter 29: Into The Ink Below**_

* * *

The toons continued to panic from the situation they had been left in; Linda knew they had to act fast as the Ink Demon could appear in any second, and it scared her to think what he would possibly do to the toons or Henry. Noticing Henry walking over to a wooden spoon hanging on the wall, she watched as he pulled down on it and started to hear the sound of turning gears in the wall.

A secret door opened, but it unfortunately only revealed a toilet.

Before Linda could air out her grievances, Henry approached the toilet and removed the cover for its reservoir. He then pulled out a GENT pipe that had been stored inside and went to work in breaking the boards blocking their way out of the cell. The Butcher Gang cheered him on in their strange nonsensical ways, and Boris peeked out between his fingers to see what was going on.

"This way!" Henry called out as he made his way out of the safe house.

Linda approached Boris, taking his hand in her to help him up. '_Charley_' and _'Barley_' scurried out as fast they could to fetch their tools Tom had taken from them and hobbled after Henry; '_Edgar_' stayed behind and grabbed on to Linda's free hand.

"Come on, boys. We have to go." Linda said as she rushed a bit to catch up with Henry and the other two.

There was a loud cracking sound coming from above as the ceiling of the safe house began to cave in from the pressure of the ink. Fortunately, Linda, Boris, and '_Edgar_' got out just in time before they could be trapped inside.

Henry had waited for them to catch up before moving on, relieved to see they were all alright.

"That was way too close for comfort." He said, still staring back at the former safe house.

"How did you know of that secret door back there?" Linda asked as she eyed the GENT pipe in his hand.

Henry gave her a smile and began to continue onward.

"During my first time traveling through the studio, I used the looking glass Alice gave me to help me find it. Someone had left messages telling me what I needed to do. Where I needed to look."

Linda thought about the hidden messages she had seen before getting locked up.

"I thought you wrote those messages."

"Some, but not all of them." He replied as he lead the way through the tunnels. "I think Joey might be somewhat responsible, but I don't know for sure. He never tells me anything."

"How can you write the hidden messages?" Linda asked, quite curious as to how it worked. Boris appeared to be quite intrigued as well as he tilted his head.

"I haven't figured it out." Henry answered with a shrug. "I discovered the ability after my first couple of time loops by accident. After that, I started keeping track of how many loops I've been through as well as writing myself some reminders and things to help put me in better spirits."

Linda was hesitant to ask, but she needed to know.

"How many loops have you gone through so far?"

Henry let out a heavy sigh.

"I think I lost count after 414."

Linda could feel her jaw drop slightly.

"Oh my god. How have you managed to stay sane all this time?"

"I think I did lose my sanity a couple times in some loops." Henry replied. "Those were bad times, but I had to press on each time otherwise nothing would get done. Now I'm really tired and sore all over from all the past injuries."

They soon reached the dock. Only one boat was left behind and secured for them to take.

"Go ahead and get in." Henry said as he approached the lever off to the side. "I doubt it's going to take long for the Ink Demon to come looking for us."

Linda carefully made her way to the side of the boat as it was on a slope. She helped the Butcher Gang get in first as they were smaller and couldn't quite get in on their own. Boris got in after them and helped Linda climb in beside him.

"Hang on to something and brace yourselves!" Henry warned before pulling the lever.

The latch holding the boat in place released and sent them down the slope as they did what they were told until they came to a short stop midway.

"One more!" Henry called before pulling the lever again.

The latch released them and they were soon floating on top of the inky river below. Henry made his way down the dock and boarded the boat.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Yes." Linda nodded. "A little shaken, but we're fine."

"It's only going to get worse." Henry replied with a look of dread before looking at Boris, '_Charley'_ '_Barley_', and '_Edgar_'. "There's something in the river. I can't exactly remember what, but it's going to try to sink our boat each time our paddle in the back gets clogged with ink clots. It's going to be a stressful ride, but I need everyone to focus on removing the clots so we can get through it quickly."

Boris was nervous but he still gave a salute in response. The Butcher Gang let out a war cry of sorts as they raised their weapons in the air. Henry smiled and then turned his attention to Linda.

"Linda, I want you to take control; I'm going to stay in the back to help. All you have to do is push the button to start the engine, and push the handle forward to move us forward. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Sounds easy enough." Linda replied as she stepped up to the control panel. There was only the button and handle Henry mentioned.

"I thought so." He said. "As soon as we're free of ink clots, continue to move us forwards."

Linda pushed the button and the engine started, making a grinding sound as if it would die on them soon.

She hoped that wouldn't be the case.

Except for the engine, it was a quiet ride as Linda sailed them into the tunnel in front of them, only to stop as they reached an intersection. She looked behind her to see Henry and the others quickly take care of the ink clots, until something large rising from the ink caught the corner of her eye. As she turned to see what it was, Linda watched in horror as a giant gloved hand grabbed on to the boat's twin (figuring it was the one Tom and Alice used to escape) and drag it down into the ink.

Linda pushed the handle forward as they were free of clots to get them moving again and the large hand rose up behind them, nearly missing as it tried to slam down on to them to sink them.

She braced herself as the inky waves rocked there boat a bit and looked back to see Boris and '_Edgar_' holding one another while they shook in fear, but they continued to quickly help out whenever the paddle got clogged.

The large gloved hand continued to chase them down the river, nearly missing them each time. However, as they got close to the end, the hand rose up ahead of them instead of behind. Linda stopped the boat before they could sail into it, and the hand slammed down on the controls, tipping the boat forward. Linda lost her balance from the impact and fell into the ink river below them.

"Henry!" Linda called out as she gasped from resurfacing, and coughed out foul tasting ink.

Boris lunged forward and reached out his hand as Henry held on to him to keep him from falling in. '_Charley_' grabbed on to Henry, and '_Barley_' grabbed on to his leader while '_Edgar' _grabbed on to the sailor and on to the beams attached to boat to form a chain.

As Linda reached for Boris' hand, she felt something wrap around the lower section of her body and start to pull her under. She now only had her face above the ink as she gasped for air.

"You have to let me go!" She cried as she tried to keep herself from going under.

"No! Linda, please!" Henry begged as he quickly readjusted his grip on Boris.

Boris frantically shook his head as inky tears came to his pie-cut eyes.

Linda went under for a second before her head resurfaced, more ink getting into her eyes and mouth.

"If you keep fighting it, you will all fall in!" She choked. "Now let go!"

Linda pulled her hand out of Boris' grip, causing the poor toon wolf to fling back into the boat and knock down the others as she fully submerged into the ink.

She could hardly hear Henry calling out for her as she was dragged down to the bottom, reminding her of the first time she fell into the ink.

Linda had the worst of luck in the studio next to Henry, of course.

Her mind started to go foggy before she felt the grip on her release its hold and the ink began to clear up on her face. Linda immediately began to gasp for air and cough out ink from her lungs. Her eyes and throat were burning.

Once she felt the ink had been cleared out of her system, Linda carefully opened her eyes and looked up to see the Ink Demon standing before her.

Had he saved her?

Or was he the one who had pulled her under?

* * *

_**A/N: Woo, another chapter! Poor Boris, why can't Bendy learn to share the Mama?**_


	30. Chapter 30:

_**Chapter 30: Through The Eyes of The Ink Demon**_

* * *

Slowly and carefully, Linda stood up with the Ink Demon still looming over her; his soft growling and the sound of his dripping ink broke the silence between them. She had yet to experience the Ink Demon attacking her,(not counting the times he would steal her away) and hoped she never would. Linda had already suffered enough pain in the studio, she didn't need to know what it was like being torn to pieces.

Before she could utter a word, Linda felt something crawl up her body. She looked down to see the ink was engulfing her like it had before when her and Boris traveled through the ink portal. In the back of her head she could feel a stabbing pain; the pain was so unbearable, Linda fell to her knees and gripped on to her head.

Images of fearful, disgusted faces and being locked away somewhere in the studio appeared before her mind's eye as she was filled with a sense of emptiness. However, there was also an intensely burning rage inside her. Linda did not recognize any of the passing memories nor feelings as her own, and didn't realize who's they were until an unmistakable image of Henry was seen along with the word "_**Creator**_".

Linda looked at the Ink Demon before her vision blurred and ink ran over her eyes, making her only see black.

* * *

_**Where am I?**_

_**Who am I?**_

Those two thoughts formed in Linda's mind as she found herself in a confined space of sorts.

'_I am Linda Stein_.' She reminded herself in her head, realizing how different her inner voice sounded compared to the newer thoughts.

'_But I don't feel like Linda Stein_.'

The sound of someone grumbling to themselves caught Linda's attention; she looked over to see a tall, broad man sitting at a work desk with a tape recorder. What surprised Linda the most was the man was human, not an ink creature like everyone else in the studio.

Was she still in the studio?

Where exactly was she?

Where was the Ink Demon?

Linda tried to speak to the man, only to let out a gurgling growl.

Something wasn't right.

The man had given her a wary look, one she had seen before yet couldn't for the life of her remember where, and pressed play.

The voice of Joey Drew's younger self began to speak:

_'Listen Tommy, I know you boys_

_over at Gent are doing your_

_best,_

_but I'm paying for living_

_attractions, not weird_

_abominations!_

_Whatever that grinning thing was_

_I saw wandering around your_

_office,_

_you better keep it locked up_

_tight!'_

It was at that point Linda finally looked down at herself and saw she was no longer in her own body. She wore a crooked white bow-tie, and her whole body was nothing but ink. As She lifted her hands to look at them, one was wearing a cartoony white glove and the other was human-like and gloveless.

Linda was in the Ink Demon's body.

_'I realize it was a first attempt' _Joey's voice continued. '_but_

_imagine if the press caught sight_

_of it! Might scare off investors!_

_and in response to your previous_

_memo:_

_If you claim your failures are_

_because these things are soulless,_

_then, damn it, we'll get them a_

_soul!_

_After all, I own thousands of 'em!_'

A wave of dread fell over Linda's as she knew what Joey had done. He didn't even care that he had sacrificed others for his inky creations, and if Henry had stayed, there would've been a chance he would've suffered the same fate.

Pain filled her being once again, this time at her core, causing her to grimace. As she opened her eyes, she was confined somewhere else in the studio. Boards were keeping her from escaping her prison along with a younger Joey Drew.

He was looking at her, or rather Bendy, in disgust and shame.

"This is all Henry's fault, Bendy." He sighed, resting a hand on a board. "If he was here, you wouldn't have to be locked away, trapped with that deformed body of yours. Hell, I would even say he would've made sure you were a spitting image of your cartoon-self, but he didn't care enought to stay. He lost sight of our dream."

'_Your dream.'_ Linda corrected in her thoughts as she held herself back from lashing out.

Everything went dark once again and Linda opened her eyes to find herself in her own body. She let out a sigh of relief and looked down to see the Ink Demon kneeling before her, resting his head on her lap. As expected, he had brought her back to his lair. She was even in her usual spot: the throne.

Linda pondered over what she had just witnessed; it was obviously more than just a dream. She felt it was some kind of connection with the Ink Demon that allowed her to feel how he felt as well as experience what memories he had. Linda knew it was only possible because of the ink. Everything in Joey Drew Studios was connected to ink.

Her thoughts were cleared away as the Ink Demon lifted his head and stood up. Linda felt uneasy as he leaned in dangerously close to her face and clutched on to the armrests of the makeshift throne. Due to their connection, Linda could feel the intense anger inside him start to blind the Ink Demon as it began to take control. She had no clue what was triggering such a reaction, but she knew she had to think fast to avoid getting hurt.

"Easy there, Bendy." Linda attempted to soothe, hesitantly placing her hand between the Ink Demon's horns. "It's okay to be angry, I would be too if I was in your place."

The Ink Demon hissed, but he didn't pull away from her touch. Linda started to relax a bit as she noticed his posture slowly became non-hostile. She smiled slightly and gently rubbed the top of his head.

"You just need someone to understand you and keep you calm."

* * *

_**A/N: Took a couple days off from writing because I had a case of writer's block. I still kind of do, so I apologize if this chapter seems to be a but lack luster. I've also been feeling rather self-conscious of my writing. ;u;**_


	31. Chapter 31: Reaching The End

_**Chapter 31: Reaching The End**_

* * *

All Linda could do for the time being was watch the Ink Demon as he had grown transfixed on the repeating cartoons above; he never did seem to mind there was no end to them nor that the characters would repeat the same few motions over and over. Linda couldn't help but wonder what exactly was the point of playing the same Bendy cartoons inside of the throne room, but then she began to realize how they effected the Ink Demon.

The cartoons helped keep him calm as well as remind him what he was supposed to be, and this "throne room" was his prison. Coming to that conclusion, it was most likely the Ink Demon was not supposed to be able to leave the room until. At least until they found some way to perfect his form to where he was a perfect copy of the Little Devil Darlin'. Linda couldn't help but feel saddened as she thought of what cruelty the Ink Demon must've endured as well as being manipulated into believing Henry had some fault in this.

_Henry..._

She wondered where he was now.

How he was fairing without her.

Linda knew Henry could handle himself, but she hoped that he and the others were safe.

Movement from the Ink Demon caught Linda's attention, taking her away from her thoughts. He was now staring at her with unseen eyes, but Linda knew better than to show an ounce of fear as unnerving as it was. She had learned long ago the Ink Demon responded more aggressively towards fear or at least toy with his victim in a cruel manner, and seeing as he was starting to become enraged at random, Linda could not risk it.

"What is it?" She asked, keeping her voice leveled as she watched him stand up.

So far she could tell the Ink Demon was calm, thanks to their connection through the ink, so she was not worried when he began to approach her.

The Ink Demon pointed at her and then pointed towards the floor. Linda blinked a bit as she tried to understand what he was trying to tell her, but then he pointed to himself and then towards the sealed metal doors.

"Oh! You want me to stay here while you go out?" She asked.

The Ink Demon's grin stretched a bit as he nodded.

"Seeing as how the ink has been effecting me, I think I had enough traveling through the portals." Linda sighed. "You won't have to worry about me escaping."

He seemed to be satisfied with her response as he grunted and turned to leave. Linda could only hope he wouldn't try to hunt down Henry, Boris, and the Butcher Gang and harm them. However, she knew it was wishful thinking.

The Ink Demon held a grudge, that much she knew for sure, and it was hard to tell if he could ever learn to forgive Henry for leaving thirty years ago.

* * *

Some time had passed once the Ink Demon finally returned, and Linda could sense he was rather stressed as his growling was louder and the ink dripped more profusely from his inky form. Before she could get a word out as the Ink Demon approached her, he wrapped his arms around Linda and clung to her, coating her in ink.

She could feel how tense he was; though his body was stiff, he was shaking violently. Linda wrapped her arms around the Ink Demon, feeling the jutting ridges of his spine.

"It's okay, Bendy." She assured. " Just breathe and calm down."

The Ink Demon let out a whimper and shook his head. Linda winced as she felt his claws begin to dig into her side. Something had him worked up as Linda could sense his rage rising within him, but the Ink Demon was trying to hold it back for once. It was as if something, or someone in this case, was trying to influence him. If anyone had that kind of power, it was Joey Drew. She didn't know how he would have such a power, but then again he did find a way to make people into ink creatures. Linda tightened her grip around the Ink Demon to keep him grounded.

"It's okay, Bendy. It's okay." She repeated, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly, the Ink Demon's grip loosened as he perked up and looked over towards the metal doors. He then released Linda and sunk into the mound of oozing ink that held up the throne. Linda was confused as to what was going on, but then she heard the sound of metal skidding on metal and saw the doors were opening.

Linda stood up and was overfilled with joy to see the one who opened the doors was Henry. He was just as relieved to see her as they rushed over to one another and embraced.

"Linda! Thank god you're alive!" Henry cried out before kissing her.

"I'm thankful you're alive as well! I was so worried!" Linda replied as she pulled away. "Where's Boris and the gang?"

"They're with Alice and Tom." He answered. "Don't worry, they're safe. Tom and Alice helped us reach the machine."

Linda was relieved to know Alice and Tom really on their side and that the others were alright.

"That's good to hear."

Henry's smile soon faded and Linda could see the fatigue build up behind his eyes as he stared past her at the throne.

"This is where Bendy and I have our finale confrontation before the next time loop begins..."

_So that's why the Ink Demon was stressed._

Henry let out a heavy sigh as he took a couple steps towards the throne.

"I'm so tired...I just can't press on anymore. This may be the last loop I try to break free."

Linda felt hurt from his words, but she didn't know how to respond. She had no way of comforting him other than telling him not to give up, but she too was growing weary, and she had been trapped in the studio for a lesser amount of time than he had. Linda quietly approached Henry from behind as he knelt down to a tape recorder and pressed play.

_'It's simply awe-inspiring what one can accomplish with their own hands.' _The voice of Joey Drew spoke up.

_'A lump of clay can turn to meaning...if you strangle it with enough enthusiasm._

_Look what we've built! We created life itself, Henry!_

_Not just one the silver screen, but in the hearts of those we entertain with our fancy moving pictures._

_But...when the tickets stopped selling...when the next big thing came along..._

_...only the monsters remained...shadows of the past._

_But you can save them, Henry! You can peel it all away!_

_You see, there's only one thing Bendy has never known._

_He was there for his beginning..._

_...but he's never seen-'_

"_The End_." Henry said along with the recording, sounding more tired as he picked up a film reel with the words "_**THE END**_" written on a piece of tape plastered on the side.

Linda and Henry looked up as they heard loud growling to see the Ink Demon standing behind the throne.

* * *

_**A/N: Oof, I still have a bit of the case of writer's block, but we're are nearing the end of the story. I'd give it at least a couple more chapters.**_

_**Special thanks to portgas d ace forever and GameFan 335 for your words of encouragement and support for the story. **_

_**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **_


	32. Chapter 32: Confrontation

_**Chapter 32: Confrontation**_

* * *

_This wasn't good._

Lindale froze in place as she watched the Ink Demon change before her very eyes. The sound of squelching and expanding ink filled the room as his hands doubled in size; the Ink Demon groaned, making Lindale believe the process was painful when he gripped on to his head and cowered behind the throne. Two long inky black horns poked out above the chair followed by a monstrous, gurgling growl.

Henry held out his arm in front of Linda as he calmly backed away, silently warning her not to go any close once two large, horrifically clawed hands gripped on the throne and a large beast hoisted itself into the chair.

The beast's head was completely black with dripping ink and its large chest heaved up and down as it breathed. Its short weak legs would've been comical if it weren't for the beast's terrifying maw full of big, sharp, jagged teeth and blackened gums.

It was the monster from Linda's nightmare. the nightmare where she helplessly watched her husband die while Joey taunted her from the side.

The Ink Demon snarled at them before a roar ripped out from his throat, pulling his long arm back to backhand them. Acting fast, Henry got in front of Linda and wrapped his arms protectively around her, tightening his grip as they were sent flying and smashed through the wall.

Linda grimaced from the pain and shock, even if she didn't receive most of the blow. Panic filled her as she noticed Henry wasn't moving and his hold on her was slack.

"Henry, you need to get up!" She yelped, now sitting up at his side and shaking him to wake him up; only pausing as the Ink Demon's roars echoed down the large metal corridors.

The floor shook beneath them as he went on a rampage. It was only a matter of time before he would start heading the couple's way, and Linda wasn't too sure there would be anything she could do to stop the beast.

"Please Henry, don't give in now!" She urged.

Fortunately, Henry started to regain conciousness, trying to lift himself up as he winced. Linda was relieved and got on her feet to help him stand.

"There are four doors that need to be opened by the four levers scattered about the corridors." Henry grunted as he took out the looking glass and handed it to Linda. "The hidden arrows will show the way to each one. Think you can handle it?"

"I-I can do that." Linda replied as she spotted the Ink Demon appear down at the end of their corridor.

"I'm going to distract Bendy." Henry said.

The Ink Demon began to charge towards them on his large fists, letting out a loud roar.

Henry ran towards the beast, holding up the film reel of "**THE END"** up before taking a sharp turn in a different direction.

"**Hey, big guy! This way!**"

Linda watched as the Ink Demon snarled and began to pursue her husband. She hoped Henry knew what he was doing. Looking through the glass, Linda could see the glowing arrows pointing in various directions and began to follow them.

As she pulled down the first lever, she saw a figure being drenched in ink behind a pane of glass. It was exactly like her nightmare, only there was no young Joey Drew. She was thankful for that; she was tired of putting up with his crap.

Nearly jumping out of her skin from the sound of the Ink Demon's roar, Linda looked to see that he had skidded to a halt to focus his aggression on her. Her heart was pounding as the Ink Demon growled at her and threatened to give chase when she started to back away, but then he perked up as Henry shouted more taunts from afar and went to chase after the man once again. Linda didn't stick around any longer in that corridor after that.

She had to keep moving and be more aware of her surroundings.

Linda threw down the second lever once she found it and hid behind the corner as she saw Henry rub by; he was huffing loudly as he pushed himself to stay ahead of the enraged beast hunting him down. Inching close to him, the Ink Demon swiped his long sharp claws at Henry's back. Henry cried out in pain, the back of his shirt now ruined by four gaping slash marks. He stumbled a bit, but he did not let the pain stop him and kept his pace.

There wasn't much time before Henry would lose his adrenaline rush, and Linda knew that as she bolted for the last two levers.

After managing to find the last two levers, Lind followed another set of glowing arrows that lead her to a hidden message.

**OPEN THESE DOORS**

She figured these were the doors Henry mentioned.

"Henry! The doors are open!" Linda called out, hoping he would hear her over the Ink Demon's outbursts. She stood by the newly opened corridor and was filled with anxiety while waiting for Henry.

Finally her husband rounded the corner and pushed himself harder as he ran down the pathway.

"Don't stop running!" He shouted as Linda ran along with him.

Linda dared not to look back over her shoulder; she could hear the Ink Demon closing in behind them as his large inky fists banged against the metal floor.

Reaching the end of the hall, the metal doors closed behind the human couple. They were now separated from the Ink Demon. Henry took this moment to try to catch his breath while Linda stood on edge, feeling sick to her stomach.

"It's not over yet." Henry huffed in warning.

Another set of metal doors opened to the side of them, revealing a large room with four large glass tube near the corners, connecting from the floor to the ceiling.

It was eerily quiet as two Bendy cartoons played on two separate screens with a message written in ink between them.

**WHO'S LAUGHING NOW**

Henry was the first to step into the room and Linda followed close behind, her wandering eyes catching sight of a valve off to the side on the wall. She watched as Henry approached the valve and turned it with a look of regret; four lights lit up on the panel next to the valve and ink began to gush and flow through the glass tubes.

HHearing a monstrous growl break the silence, Henry and Linda turned to see the Ink Demon emerging from the wall across from them.

Henry went to take a step forward but let out a pain-filled cry as his legs buckled beneath his. Linda knelt down beside him to see ink oozing from his wounds on his back where there should've been blood.

A thought the trickled into Linda's mind:

Would she bleed out ink too?

Was it already too late for them to ever have a chance of escaping this hellish studio?

_Was there ever a chance to begin with?_

Being taken out of her intrusive thoughts, Linda watched as the Ink Demon began to stalk towards them like the large predatory beast he was. She desperately tried to think of what to do, but she was too terrified of what the Ink Demon might do to them as his gaping mouth dripped with inky saliva. Sure, her and Henry had died before in other time loops only to come back at some point in the loop, but that never meant the experience was a pleasant one.

Dying here had its tolls.

Who was to say they would continue to reemerge from the ink? What if this was going to be the last time?

What if they joined the lost voices that swirled and bubbled in the wells of ink?

Linda wrapped her arms around Henry's weakened form and braced herself for whatever would come next.

If they were going to die, they were going to die together.

* * *

_**A/N: Due to my laptop deciding not to have Internet connection at the moment, I retyped what I had type down on my laptop with my phone with a few changes here and there. **_

_**I hope you found this chapter bearable. Thanks for reading this far. :)**_


	33. Chapter 33: Forgiveness

_**Chapter 33: Forgiveness**_

* * *

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours; at least that's how it felt to Linda as she waited for something, _anything, _to happen as the Ink Demon towered over her and Henry. She felt Henry move a bit from her embrace to weakly look up at the beast. Ink was dripping from the corners of his mouth when he tried to speak, but no words would come out other than gurgling sounds.

The Ink Demon roared and grabbed on to Henry, tearing him away from Linda before throwing him across the room. Linda let out a sharp cry as her husband's back slammed against the wall, unsure if she even properly said anything.

The film reel had tumbled out of Henry's hands and was now laying over by the glass tube full of flowing ink.

With the Ink Demon focused on him, Linda quickly stood up and ran over to the reel.

"Over here!" She called out to cause a distraction, picking up the reel. "Come and get it, Bendy!"

The Ink Demon paused in his tracks and turned his massive head towards Linda, snarling at the sight of the film reel in her hands. As he charged towards her, Linda quickly moved out of the way so that he would ram into the glass tube.

The glass shattered and ink started to spray out everywhere. The Ink Demon had collapsed from the collision and shook his head as if to clear his focus. He stood up soon afterwards on his fists, growling as he now was focusing on Linda.

She tried to keep her distance from the Ink Demon as she backed away to the next tube, but his long arms helped him maneuver in a way he could quickly close the gap between them. Linda nearly fell over as the beast clawed at her, barely missing her when she continued to back away.

Once again the Ink Demon snarled and charged forward, forcing Linda to use the same strategy of guiding and moving out of the way when he charged. Fortunately, it worked as the Ink Demon had too much momentum to stop on a dime.

Linda continued the same process the last two tubes; once the Ink Demon smashed into the tube, everything went dark for a couple of seconds.

The projectors in the room no longer played their cartoons, ink was spraying in all directions, and the Ink Demon was nowhere to be seen. Linda looked all around for him, until she saw Henry struggling to get up.

"Henry!..."

She rushed over to him, horrified to see the ink from his wounds expand to different parts of his body like it was trying to consume him.

"Linda...End this now." Henry rasped, breathing heavily as he tried to look up at her. "It hurts so much..."

"I'm not ending this without you." Linda replied, setting the reel down beside her as she knelt down to help him up.

The sentient ink from her body attempted to reach an join with the ink consuming Henry.

"Stop it!" She shrieked, placing her husband's arm around her shoulder. "Leave him alone!"

The ink seemed to respond to the command, writing a bit as she picked up the film reel. Henry groaned in pain as Linda stood up, but he stood up with her and held on to her as she guided him to the doorway that was closed before everything was destroyed.

Seeing that it lead them back into the throne room, Linda approached the throne and sat Henry down. The ink on his body had spread out more, but it seemed like a slow process.

A painful one at that.

Before she could put the reel into the player, Linda whipped around as she heard a loud growl, coming face-to-face with the beastly Ink Demon.

He reached out to grab her but stopped as Henry spoke up:

"Bendy, stop...This is between you and me. Leave Linda out of this."

The Ink Demon snarled, roughly shoving Linda out of the way to get to Henry.

Linda fell from the mound of thick ink holding up the makeshift throne and landed on her hands and knees as she hit the metal floor. She hissed in pain, but quickly ignored it as she focused on Henry and the Ink Demon.

The Ink Demon looked ready to tear him apart as he lifted his inky claws and opened his mouth widely to bite down, but Henry showed no fear.

Just pain and exhaustion.

"I'm sorry, Bendy..."

The Ink Demon paused his attack and let out a low growl.

"I'm so sorry. I have come to realize after all this time the pain and loneliness you suffered these past thirty years." Henry continued. "I should've realized it after the first loop you didn't know who you were supposed to be..."

Linda watched in silence as the Ink Demon's harsh growls turned into soft whimpers.

"Joey forced you into this role, and even now he has some influence over you, doesn't he buddy?..." Henry asked.

The Ink Demon lowered his head, letting out monstrous sobs. Henry slowly reached out his shakey hand and rested it on top of the beast's head.

"I'm sure you're tired of the time loops just as much as I am."

The Ink Demon's sobs turned back into growls as he lifted his head, forcing Henry's hand off before roaring in his face and snatching him up in his claws.

Linda began to panic again and quickly ran up to the Ink Demon, latching on to the arm he was using to hold himself up.

"Bendy stop! This isn't you!"

The beast tilted his head down to look at her, still holding Henry in a firm grip, growling at her.

"You never were a monster, Bendy." Linda said with tears in her eyes. "Don't let Joey influence your anger, he has no authority over you."

The Ink Demon's growls grew softer.

"Please, learn to forgive Henry." She continued. "If not now, then consider it in the next time loop. In his eyes, you're still the Little Devil Darlin' he created those many years ago."

Linda reached into her purse and quickly pulled out the Bendy drawing, unfolding it to show it to the Ink Demon.

The beast whimpered as he stared at the drawing before looking back at Henry.

"Please Bendy, forgive me." Henry said gently, most of his body covered in ink.

The Ink Demon seemed to be conflicted as he set Henry back down and held his head large clawed hands, now sitting on the ground. He thrashed his head about, snarling and whimpering all at once.

Linda carefully approached and wrapped her arms around the Ink Demon as far as her arms would allow her for his size.

Henry limped over and hugged the whimpering beast as well.

"You don't need to worry about me forgiving you, I already have. I love you, Bendy."

Linda perked up as she saw the ink on Henry's body glow in a golden color before moving up his arms and rippling through the Ink Demon's body.

The ink that made up the Ink Demon's body began to rise up into the air like steam, forcing his body to shrink.

It wasn't long until all that was left was a small cartoon demon, sobbing in between the couples' embrace.

He looked up at them with big pie-cut eyes.

He was a spitting image of the cartoon Bendy.

Linda was amazed by the sudden transformation while Henry just smiled and hugged Bendy a but tighter.

"There's my Little Devil Darlin'."

* * *

_**A/N: Hugs for Bendy! Forgiveness and love are powerful things. Once again, had to type this out on my phone. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**_


	34. Chapter 34: Freedom Comes At A Price

_**Chapter 34: Freedom Comes At A Price  
**_

* * *

Linda looked down at The End reel that had fallen out of her hands when Bendy knocked her down; she didn't want to ruin the tender moment between the little devil and her husband, but they had to find a way to escape the studio.

"Now what do we do?"

Henry had followed her gaze on the reel before she looked back at him.

"I'm not sure." He replied. "Usually playing The End just starts everything over again. I...I don't want to risk losing everything we gained this run."

Bendy pulled away from Henry and hopped down to the floor to investigate the film reel. He stared at the label for a bit as he picked it up before approaching the human couple again. Bendy was a bit hesistant, but he held the reel out to them.

Linda carefully took the reel from Bendy and looked it over.

"What if we were to break it instead?"

"As far as I know, it was unbreakable." Henry answered as he thought about it. "But seeing as a lot of events played out differently than they normally would this loop, it's worth a shot."

It wasn't hard to notice that hope had returned in Henry's eyes. He even seemed a bit more energetic despite how beaten up he was.

"Before we break it, I want to see the others first." Linda said with a small smile. "Just in case this will be the last time we see them."

Henry nodded in understanding and staggered on to his feet.

"Let's not keep them waiting then."

As Linda stood up, Bendy gently tugged at the hem of her ruined, inkstained skirt. She looked down at the little toon devil and he held up his gloved hands like a child wanting to be picked up. She couldn't help but chuckle as he seemed a bit shy about it when before in his larger forms he would've been much more demanding.

Bendy clung and snuggled into her as Linda picked him up, making her wonder how the others would react to him. Surely they would still be wary of him despite the change in his form.

It was then she felt ink seeping into her clothes as the small devil began to breathe heavily.

"Hey, it's okay." Linda soothed as she gently patted his inky back.  
"Henry and I will keep you safe."

Fortunately, her words seemed to have helped calm Bendy down as he looked up at her with big pie-cut eyes. She gently wiped away the ink running down his forehead. Henry then approached and petted the space between his horns.

"This is a big step for all of us, buddy." He said. "But Linda is right, we won't let you get hurt."

Linda followed Henry out into the open to see a lake of ink before them. Out on a ledge above the ink were Boris and the Butcher Gang along with Alice and Tom.  
She was thrilled to see them as much as they were to see her and Henry.

Henry waded across the ink with Linda close behind. As they drew closer, the other toons' enjoyment turned to a mix of curiosity and wariness as the noticed the little devil in Linda's arms.

Her and Henry had a lot of explaining to do, that was for sure.

Not liking the stares from the others, Bendy hid his face in Linda's shoulders. Linda tightened her hold in response to try to provide some comfort.

Also noticing their looks, Henry began to try to ease the other toons' concerns.

"He won't hurt you. He is no longer the Ink Demon." He assured. "Now he's just Bendy."

"How can you be so sure?" Alice asked as she helped him up on to the ledge.

"He's learned about love and forgiveness." Henry answered as he turned to help Linda up.

Tom, of course, still seemed a bit wary of Bendy as the little devil was placed beside Henry while the others were generally curious as they were not used to seeing the Ink Demon in a perfect toon form.

Bendy gave a nervous smile and waved.

"Bendy had no control of his anger as the Ink Demon." Linda said. "He was just so full of pain couldn't think clearly."

"And what about the reel he took to his lair?" Alice asked.

Linda held it out.

"We're thinking about destroying it instead."

The angel looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Destroy it? How will destroying set us free?"

"Playing it certainly doesn't." Henry butted in. "All that does is force us into another time loop. Destroying it may actually break the curse Joey place on the studio."

Alice bit her lip as she looked at Tom, who only shrugged in response.

"Assuming that's true, how do we break it?"

'_Charley_' garbled a bit as he approached to get a better look at the reel before taking it from Linda. He then threw it as hard as he could on the ground and began to beat it with his wrench.

Unfortunately, he didn't even leave a dent.

"Good try, Charley." Linda encouraged, as the Butcher Gang grew frustrated.

Henry looked at Alice's sword.

"Maybe your sword would work?"

"I guess it's worth a try." She replied as she unsheathed her blade.

Alice approached the reel on the ground and proceeded to stab it.

Like '_Charley's' _attempt, it didn't work.

Linda looked over at Bendy to see he was becoming stressed by the situation. Before she could ask him what was wrong, Bendy's form began to change. He grew tall and lankier, and ink began to run over his eyes.

Bendy had transformed back into the Ink Demon.

Boris and The Butcher Gang backed away while Tom stood protectively in front of Alice.

Linda and Henry watched as the Ink Demon limped up to The End reel and picked it up. With his his demonic strength, he was able to crack it. As the reel was broken, a bright blinding light surrounded them.

* * *

All white as far as the eye could see.

Nothing else.

Was any of this real?

Linda wasn't even sure she was alive anymore, at least until her vision began to clear up. She was in a small bedroom in a singles bed, Henry was by her side just waking up.

"Joey's apartment." He said as he looked atpund, but them he paused and Linda saw a grin tug at his lips. "This never happened before."

Linda looked to see a pile of four toons laying at the end of the bed, sleeping peacefully. Even Alice and Tom were in the room, nestled together in a corner of the room. However, one toon was missing.

"Where's Bendy?" Linda asked.

She hoped destroying the reel didn't destroy him too.

Suddenly they heard a gurgled cry along with a loud crash, which also woke they unconcsious toons.

"That sounded like it came from the kitchen." Henry said as he rushed out of bed over to the door. As soon as he opened it, he froze.

"Oh my god..."

Linda got out bed along with Boris and the Butcher Gang to see what He was looking at.

"What's going on?" Alice asked as her and Tom joined them.

The whole apartment was trashed. Glass was broken, furniture was torn and destoryed, and ink was splattered all over the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Henry cautiously stepped out of the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen.

"Bendy? Are you-"

He stopped in the kitchen and Linda gasped in shock.

Before them was Bendy, holding down an ink covered Joey Drew.

Joey's eyes were glazed over, forever staring up at the ceiling in terror.

Fresh ink was dripping from the corners of Bendy's grin.

Joey Drew was dead.

Linda took a cautious step forward.

"Bendy?"

The little devil's head snapped to look at her and a look of fear suddenly took place on his features as if reality had just set in. He scrambled off of Joey's body, but stayed away from Henry, Linda, and the other toons. He shifted around nervously as ink began to run down over his eyes and his form began to change to the Ink Demon.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there Bendy." Henry tried soothe, but the Ink Demon only growled and grunted in stressed manner.

Linda approached him and took hold of his inky arm.

"Bendy, it's okay. Calm down."

She wasn't sure if she could believe herself; Joey was dead. He was a horrible man and deserved what was coming to him, but having to see it was too much.

Bendy whined as he looked at her before wrapping his arms around her, pulling Linda close to his skeletal frame.

Henry walked over to the back door and opened it, instead of being sent back to the studio, the outside world greeted them.

They were free.

"Linda, take Bendy and the others home." He said. "I'll call someone to help with this mess."

Linda was reluctant at first due to disbelief they were finally free, and the fact someone may think Henry murdered Joey, but she complied.

* * *

_**A/N: This chapter was difficult to write as it's pretty much the next to last chapter, and I had to think how Joey's death would be handled. I've also been caught up playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so it took me a bit longer to get around to writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.**_


	35. Chapter 35: One Big Happy Family

_**Chapter 35: One Big Happy Family**_

* * *

Linda felt nauseated as she sat anxiously near the phone, not even sure if Henry would call home. It was still hard for her to believe that they were free from Joey Drew Studios, and part of her felt like she was just dreaming and she would wake up to find herself somewhere in the ink-flooded studio. That feeling washed away as Linda felt something touch her shoulder and she turned her head to see Alice. Tom was standing not too far behind looking like he didn't know what to do with himself.

This was all new to the toons; they never had a life outside of the studio. Not one they could remember at least.

"Heard anything?" Alice asked.

"Not yet." Linda sighed as she lightly shook her head. "I hope he's alright."

Alice smiled slightly and gently patted her shoulder.

"Henry has gotten himself into a lot of trouble before, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Linda couldn't help but chuckle at the remark.

"True, if there was anything that time in Joey Drew Studios has proven, it's that Henry always finds a way."

The moment was interrupted as the phone began to ring, causing Linda to jump slightly and fumble to answer it.

"This is Linda Stein, who's calling?"

"Hey Linda, it's me." Henry's tired voice responded.

Linda heart fluttered and settled with relief.

"Oh thank god. Where are you? Is everything alright?"

"I'm about to head home now." He replied. "I had to explain the situation to the police without making it seem like I was crazy. Fortunately, one of the cops was an old buddy of mine and didn't suspect I had anything to do with Joey...They concluded it was some freak accident with the machine he kept in his house."

A look of confusion appeared on Linda's face.

"'_Machine_'?"

"I was just as confused as you were." Henry continued. "But they found it during their investigation, and it was ink was spraying everywhere. I guess Joey kept an ink machine of his own."

They were both silent for a moment, which felt like an hour to Linda, before her husband spoke up again.

"How is everyone doing?"

"We're doing alright." Linda replied. "Everyone has seemed to settle down a bit, but I'll have to check on Bendy. He's still having a hard time."

"I bet he is." Henry said. "He's probably going to struggle for a while, but we'll be there to help him through it. I'll be home soon. Love you."

"Love you too." Linda responded before they both hung up.

Alice was still standing near Linda as she raised a brow.

"Everything okay?"

"Henry will be home soon." Linda assured with a small smile. "Where's Bendy?"

"I'm not sure." Alice replied. "He was with the others just a bit ago, last I knew."

Linda stood up and made her way into the dining room where she had last seen the other toons.

Boris and The Butcher Gang were playing a game of cards, though it seemed they couldn't decide which one. Boris was playing Go Fish; '_Charley_' was playing Poker; '_Barley_' was playing Old Maid, and '_Edgar_' was trying to build a pyramid with his deck, but the cards wouldn't stay standing. Linda giggled at the comical sight before gently tapping on Boris' shoulder to get his attention.

"Do you know where Bendy went?" She asked as the toon wolf looked up at her.

Boris looked over towards the stairs and pointed.

Linda walked over to the stairs and took them up to the second floor of the house. She walked down the hall, peeking into the rooms until she spotted a familiar inky form in the third room: Henry's drawing room. She opened the door a bit wider to step in and saw Bendy sitting at Henry's desk, staring at a sketch of himself.

"Bendy?" Linda called out, keeping her voice soft so she would not startle the toon.

The little toon devil turned his head to look at her, his grin contorted to that of a frown as inky tears pooled at his pie-cut eyes.

Linda approached and scooped up Bendy into arms and sat down on the chair he was on. Bendy snuggled into her as more inky tears spilled down his face.

"Oh Bendy..." Linda sighed sadly. "I wish I could take the pain you're feeling away.

She held him closer as she slightly tightened her embrace.

"You have been through so much for so long, but now you don't have to fight anymore. You can rest easy now and live a new happier life with Henry and I."

Linda looked down at Bendy as she felt him look up at her with wide eyes. Though they were toonish, they were full of emotion and innocence.

"Would you like that, Bendy?"

Bendy's smile slowly returned as he wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled her cheek.

"I'm home!" A voice called from downstairs.

Henry's voice.

Linda carried Bendy down to meet him, and felt the toon tightened his grip on her. She could tell he was anxious and perhaps thought Henry would be upset with him. She supposed she still somewhat harbored the same abilities that were given to her during her time at Joe Drew Studios to know what Bendy was really feeling, they just weren't as strong now as they were then.

As they got to the bottom step, Linda could see that Henry had himself surrounded by the others welcoming him back. Boris was hugging him while The Butcher Gang were circling around his feet, garbling loudly. Alice and Tom just stood of to the side, enjoying the sight.

Henry greeted each of them to acknowledge their greetings before making his way towards Linda.

Linda watched as he looked down at Bendy and held out his hands. Bendy was a bit reluctant as she passed him over to Henry, but relaxed slightly as he noticed the man smiling at him.

"I meant what I said before, Bendy." Henry said as he hugged the toon. "And I still do. I do not blame you for all the hell I went through in that studio. You're still my Little Devil Darlin'."

Bendy hugged Henry back, and Linda could see they were both crying tears of joy. She hugged them both and felt the others join in the embrace as well.

That evening they celebrated their freedom playing games and having a grand meal together, which they also spent in remembering those who could not be saved from the studio. It was a bittersweet moment, and some tears were shed between Henry and Linda as the others took their moment of silence.

When it was time to turn in for the night, Linda and Henry made sure everyone had a place to sleep before heading to bed themselves.

Linda enjoyed the comfort of a bed more than she had ever before, and she was sure Henry felt the same as he plopped down on the bed, almost immediately falling asleep. However, she knew he was still awake by how he smiled when she looked at him.

"It's great to be home." He said.

"Yes it is." Linda replied before giving him a kiss.

Before they could drift off to sleep, they felt something moving from beneath the covers. Linda pulled up the covers and chuckled as she saw Bendy grinning up at her.

"Alright Bendy, just for the night." Henry yawned, rubbing the space between the toon devil's horns.

"I have a feeling this will be a common occurence." Linda said as Bendy made himself comfortable between them.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Henry replied, closing his eyes. "Our family just got bigger."

"One big happy family." Linda smiled as she turned off the light.

The three of them soon drifted off to sleep.

_**The End**_

* * *

_**Author's Note: Woo, this took forever for me to finish. I lost the notebook I was writing this story in, I couldn't think of how to write the chapter, and I was busy with a whole bunch of stuff. I apologize for taking so long to write this ending, but this story is now finished and I can now move on to other story ideas. I also wrote/edited this chapter on my phone, and I would not recommend it.**_

_**Thanks to those who have followed and faved this story, I hope this was worth the wait.**_


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